It’s funny, when I think of AI the first thing that comes to my mind is ChatGPT. For some they may see ChatGPT as a source of cheating. I will say, people who think this way are not wrong, AI can be used for cheating, it can be used for harm, but it can also be a source of “good”. It’s important to recognize“good” can be a very subjective term that one person may see as negative. So far this course has done very little to sway students in the direction of AI being “good”. Just looking at some of the article titles, there isn’t much room to see the positives.
“The Subprime AI Crisis (an interesting bridge from my subprime mortgage crisis class last semester)” ;“Refusing AI in Writing Studies: A Quickstart Guide , “Justice Department Sues RealPage for Algorithmic Pricing Scheme that Harms Millions of American Renters;” Stop Using Generative AI as a Search Engine, Shh, ChatGPT. That’s a Secret. Your chatbot transcripts may be a gold mine for AI companies”.
Although students may be swayed to focus on the negatives, I personally believe that there should be more focus on the positives.
So far in this class we have looked at multiple different sources that have shown the positives and negatives of AI. A personal standout is AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference by Arvind Narayanan. I believe Narayanan puts it best when he states, “‘AI is whatever hasn’t been done yet’… once an application starts working reliably, it fades into the background and people take it for granted”. These applications are simple things we see in our daily lives and forget they are AI, like spell check, robot vacuum cleaners and even autopilot on planes. These applications are seen throughout the world on a daily, and even sometimes hourly basis but nobody ever bats an eye as it has become common.
If people correspond AI with negative, that is all they are ever going to see. This mindset continues to extend itself beyond ChatGPT, into other AI driven technologies. When I think of AI driven technology, I think of self driving cars. I remember when I was younger, there was so much fear surrounding the idea of cars driving themselves. Fears of accidents, malfunctions, and losing control. It turns out that self-driving cars have a lower accident rate than regular cars. According to lookupaplate.com, “The accident rate of self-driving cars is 9.1 crashes per million miles driven—more than double the rate of regular cars”. It is important to note that this is one statistic and you should never draw conclusions after reading one article, especially an article whose goal is to sway you in the direction of something being good.
As technology continues to get smarter and more accessible, society is being offered solutions to questions that were once unimaginable. One such example is the use of AI in healthcare. Our professor introduced the class to Aysa which is a skin condition website that uses AI to help individuals identify potential skin issues, even serious conditions like melanoma. Although AI cannot replace a health care provider, Aysa allows anyone with a smartphone to have accessible and immediate insights into their skin health. This is simply done by uploading a photo. Aysa describes their AI draw on experience from more than “47,000 physicians and nurses, and more than 137,000,000 health searches” and has “best-in-class technology utilizing a patented library of medical data and images to assist providers in diagnosing their patients”.
There is always going to be fear and skepticism surrounding any new technologies, and with that being said many people have fears surrounding AI. As this technology continues to grow, there will be concerns surrounding privacy and misuse. Spell check was once considered controversial as some feared it would weaken students’ spelling ability. To some extent that may be true, but today it is accepted as more of an aid rather than a crutch. Technologies like Aysa will not replace human expertise; rather, it will enhance accessibility allowing anyone to gain quick insights into their health for little to no cost.
Ultimately, AI is a tool and like all things, it can be used for both good and bad. Having a balanced perspective is important, while fears and concerns surrounding AI are valid, I believe that the benefits outweigh the negatives. AI has the ability to enhance society’s overall quality of life. My most important takeaway is that dismissing AI over potential risks is counterproductive and by viewing AI as a tool for progress rather than as a source of fear, society can embrace its potential and foster growth.