The researchers' work was initially seen as just another interesting AI project within Google. However, it quickly gained recognition after being presented at the Neural Information Processing Systems conference. Despite this, the full potential of transformers was not immediately realized within Google. It was OpenAI, a startup, that first utilized the technology to develop its GPT products. All eight authors have since left Google and are now working with systems powered by the technology they created in 2017.
Key takeaways:
- The scientific paper "Attention Is All You Need" was written by eight Google researchers in 2017, introducing the concept of transformers in artificial intelligence (AI), which has since revolutionized the field.
- The authors decided to list their names in a random order, challenging the convention of ranking contributors, and added a footnote stating "Equal contributor. Listing order is random."
- Transformers, a type of AI architecture, are behind many mind-blowing AI products, including ChatGPT and graphic generators such as Dall-E and Midjourney.
- All eight authors have since left Google and are now working with systems powered by the technology they created in 2017.