ISA Steps into the World of Generative AI

Since the public release of ChatGPT almost two years ago, there has been tremendous interest in exploring opportunities for the use of generative artificial intelligence and large language models in a wide range of applications. We have become accustomed to using chatbots of this type to augment or replace traditional search engines for gathering data and conducting research. Applications have emerged in areas ranging from summarizing large bodies of written work to assisting in the composition of new documents.

This type of technology can be very useful for organizations that have a large body of intellectual property that they may wish to share with a wide audience. Professional societies certainly fit this description, and many are exploring such possibilities.

A recent example of this is the announcement by The International Society of Automation of a large language model called MimoSM, described as—“An AI-powered large-language model educated on ISA content”. This capability builds on the previously released PubHub, a more conventional web portal to a wide variety of ISA content.

Currently offered primarily as a benefit for members, Mimo is also available to non-members, though they will receive a more concise response. Mimo may be used to explore the society’s collection of technical content that has been assembled over 75 years. This includes book chapters, conference proceedings, e-books, magazine articles, training materials, and standards and practices. 

ISA has stated that the amount of content available to Mimo will increase over time, providing even more value to members. The service also takes user feedback into account, with an opportunity to react to answers and provide commentary. 

How this service evolves and is applied over time remains to be seen. Much of this depends on acceptance and the amount and quality of feedback received. Nonetheless, it is safe to assume that such evolution will occur, as it will in other similar professional societies.