Recently, there has been sudden dissent towards AI on the news and at schools nationwide with the creation of Chat GPT. This raises the question: What exactly is AI? As described by Alyssa Schroer in her article “What Is Artificial Intelligence?,” “[…] artificially intelligent systems can perform tasks commonly associated with human cognitive functions — such as interpreting speech, playing games, and identifying patterns.” In simple terms, AI can decide on situations through the information given. While some AI can only perform specific tasks (like Google Maps), others can act similarly to humans. Although there is a common fear of machines rising against the human race, AI is supervised and utilized to help rather than hurt.
Despite this, fear and dislike of AI are now widespread, but why? This has to do with distrust, both of AI itself and also the leaders who could abuse it. It is not easy to trust something that one does not understand, which most people do not. Media has only made this distrust worse, as for decades, AI has been villainized as an anti-human evil, with movies like “The Matrix,” and “The Terminator,” being classics. There is a constant fear that technology will become so aware that it will eventually come to hate and overthrow humans. However, the same people who fear AI are usually the ones that use it every day. Your song recommendations, navigation apps, and Alexa and Google Home are all AI-generated. However, these examples are only some of the ways AI helps us.
The use of artificial intelligence limits the number of mistakes one can make. Although this may sound like a confusing, advanced algorithm, an example would be the spell and grammar check on Google Docs. This AI system is simpler than those that imitate humans, but it emphasizes how important and beneficial AI is in everyday life.
Additionally, AI is extremely useful for businesses, as it helps make tasks at work much more manageable. Danial Newman wrote in his article “Why We Need To Focus On The Positives Of AI,” “It has made the lives of employees in my company so much easier. They can pass off tedious, repetitive tasks and focus on things that matter.” AI has allowed businesses to be more efficient and ethical. Newman states that businesses can use AI through their interviewing process to reduce bias.
However, those employees only work for so long before going home, and studies have shown that humans can only stay productive for up to six hours. Those who work are also only sometimes available, as people sleep and need breaks; however, AI is always available and rarely shuts down. For example, if one has a question at any time of the day, they could do a simple Google search, another form of artificial intelligence, rather than taking time to find the information by going through people and sources.
The root of hate for AI is confusion and fear rather than genuine grounds. If there was a greater understanding of what AI is and what it can offer, AI’s popularity would skyrocket.
