Application programming interfaces (APIs) power the modern Internet, including most of the websites, mobile apps, and IoT devices we use. And, thanks to the ubiquity of the Internet in almost every part of the planet, APIs are what give people the power to connect to almost any functionality they want. This phenomenon, often referred to as “API economy“, is expected to have a total market value of $14.2 trillion by 2027;.
Given the increasing relevance of APIs in our daily lives, it has attracted the attention of many authorities who have established key regulations. The first level is defined by organizations such as IEEE and W3C, which aim to create the standards for technical capabilities and limitations that define the technology of the entire Internet.
Data security and privacy aspects are covered by internationally recognized requirements such as ISO27001, GDPR and others. Their main purpose is to provide the framework for API-supported domains.
But now, with artificial intelligence, regulation has become much more complex.
How AI integration has changed the API landscape
Various kinds of AI have been here for a while, but genetic AI (and LLMs) have completely changed the risk landscape.
Many AI companies are using the benefits of API technologies to bring their products into every home and workplace. The most notable example here is the early release of OpenAI’s API to the public. This combination would not have been possible just two decades ago, when neither APIs nor AI were at the level of maturity we’re starting to see in 2022.
Co-creating or co-creating with AI has are quickly becoming the norm in software development, especially in the complex process of API creation and development. Tools like GitHub Copilot and ChatGPT are able to write the code to integrate with any API and will soon define some ways and patterns that most software engineers use to build APIs, sometimes without even understanding it deeply enough .
We’re also seeing how companies like Superface and Blobr are innovating in the field of API integration, making it possible to use AI to connect to any API you want in a way that you would talk to a chatbot.
Various kinds of AI have been around for a while, but they are generative AI (and large language models [LLMs]) that completely changed the risk landscape. GenAI has the ability to create something in endless ways, and that creativity will either be controlled by humans or — in the case of artificial general intelligence (AGI) — be beyond our current ability to control.
