We’ve been hearing more and more about artificial intelligence, or A.I. Experts say it’s a technology many of us have been using for quite some time. But how it’s used is changing.

It is now becoming a talking point on Capitol Hill as lawmakers eye regulatory measures and look at ways A.I. may be useful. 

We’ve been using components of the technology for years.

“People use it on their phone when they’re doing a memo they get what are the next three words,” said Jim Hendler, Future of Computing Institute director at RPI.

But artificial intelligence is becoming more sophisticated.

“It’s just been trained on a much, much bigger set of documents,” Hendler explained. Just about everything on the web – more than six billion documents, he said.

“Any tool has the potential to be used and misused,” Hendler said.

He said as A.I. becomes more available to the general public, fear surrounding the technology is growing.

“Because it seems they can “do everything,” but in reality, they’re still very limited,” Hendler said.

On Tuesday, the U.S. House Armed Services Committee convened for a hearing on how A.I. could be used by military forces around the world.

“It is in moments like this that Congress, the DOD and the tech industry can either rise to the challenge together or stand idle,” Hendler said.

Experts say the Chinese government is investing about three times more than what the U.S. is in artificial intelligence.

“A.I. offers the U.S. more than bespoke capabilities. Large language models and other genitive technologies, if properly realized, could provide an economic base for a new era of American prosperity and security,” Hendler said.

But there are ethical questions surrounding the growing use of A.I.

“How much should we use, when should we use them, what should we allow the systems to do by themselves?” Hendler said.

And experts expect employment patterns to shift as A.I. use broadens.

“We will see people losing jobs and we will see other people hired, as often happens when a new technology comes along,” he said. "If you want threats of extinction, A.I. would be pretty low on my list compared to a lot of others.”