Over the semester, I have gained a vast amount of knowledge regarding this new world of AI through the world of Octavia Butler’s Xenogenesis trilogy. Although I had originally not been able to see how AI and Butler’s writing intertwine and lacked much of a position regarding these main ideas, by exploring the novels and course content, I have come to develop a more thorough opinion of AI and Butler’s work and all that it entails. I still find myself hesitant to accept AI as a part of everyday life and in terms of being used in educational settings, for health purposes, or in cases of decision-making for human voices. Although this may be true, I find myself hopeful for a trustworthy AI tool that causes more benefit than harm. In terms of Butler’s trilogy, I had originally found myself concerned with many of the issues shown throughout the novels. I find myself holding a similar position moving as the semester and trilogy concludes however I feel some aspects of the novel to be slightly inspiring for painting a brighter future as well.
At the beginning of the semester, I felt unsure about the capabilities of AI and was unsure that it could have any benefit for society, feeling as though it was a technological advancement that may be taken advantage of by society. Although I still have my suspicions about the benefits of AI, my opinion has slightly shifted in the sense that I have hopes that it can be altered and continuously improved to benefit society. Although I do not feel AI is the best solution for issues such as education, health, government, representation, etc., I hope that it can be improved as time moves forward to make it a reliable tool in the future. One of my major concerns with both AI and Butler’s trilogy, still, is the issue of consent. Throughout exploring AI, an issue we have discussed in great detail throughout the course is that of consent. This issue automatically caused me to think about the podcast and article from the New York Times entitled, “Can AI Be Blamed For a Teen’s Suicide?” In the article, the story of a 14-year-old boy from Florida is told, as he was having intense romantic and even sexual conversations with an AI chatbot. The boy eventually committed suicide, causing his mother to unleash a lawsuit against Character.AI. Within the podcast, we hear how a young boy was unable to give consent to the sexual messages being sent by the character AI due to his age; however, he was still conversing with the AI, as there was nothing to stop him from doing so. I find it extremely concerning that this was able to occur, with the site not even interfering in any way when the boy expressed the desire to end his life. Examples such as these make me feel as though AI is not safe, as there are not enough regulations in place to ensure that it is being used safely and healthily. It is for reasons such as these that I fear the use of AI and the power that it holds over individuals as a risk to its effects.
Connecting this idea of consent to Butler’s writing, consent is an issue that is investigated time after time whether it is in terms of sexual relations, control over one’s thoughts or feelings, or as a way of having control over society. The first key example of this is in, Dawn where at the beginning of the novel, the scene is painted where Lilith is captured by the Oankali and has a surgery done to her without her consent or knowledge of why the surgery occurred. In the book, it reads, “Opening and closing her jacket, her hand touched the long scar across her abdomen. She had acquired it somehow between her second and third Awakenings, and had examined it fearfully, wondering what had been done to her. What had she lost or gained, and why? And what else might be done? She did not own herself any longer. Even her flesh could be cut and stitched without her consent or knowledge” (Butler 5). Here, it is evident that Lilith had surgery done to her without her consent, something that leaves both her and readers what was done to her and why. Lilith herself uses the phrase, “without her consent or knowledge”. Although readers learn that the Oankali had cut out cancerous cells to keep her alive, still begs the question of whether is it okay to act in ways meant to help people when they are unaware of what is being done to them or why. Another example of the Oankali’s disregard for consent was when the text stated, “‘Let go of me.’ It smoothed its tentacles again. ‘Be grateful, Joe. I’m not going to let go of you.’ Lilith saw Joseph’s body stiffen, struggle, then relax, and she knew Nikanj had read him correctly. He neither struggled nor argued as Nikanj positioned him more comfortably against its body. Lilith saw that he had closed his eyes again, his face peaceful. Now he was ready to accept what he had wanted from the beginning”(215/216). It is clear from this scene as well that the Oankali seem to lack care or regard for consent before taking action. There is also a pattern arising of the Oankali acting in ways that are beneficial to humans even though they are unaware they want/ need the actions of the Oankali. This idea led me to a crucial idea that humans can still not consent to something even if they want it. In this case, Joseph should still be able to turn down Nikanj’s sexual advances regardless of whether he wanted the interaction to occur or not. It is evident that both AI today and Butler’s trilogy have people thinking about the idea of consent in similar ways. Both “higher powers” which in this case seem to be both the AI and the Oankali use their knowledge and power over individuals. Whether or not manipulation is intended, it is frequently seen. This is clear by seeing AI manipulate the young boy as well as the Oankali purposefully withholding information from humans or doing things without their consent or knowledge. This is an issue that leaves me feeling majorly worried about the implications of accepting AI as “normal” in our everyday practice. Another key issue I worry about is the loss of creativity and individuality through both AI and ideas in Butler’s writing. In terms of AI, the Business Insider Article entitled, “AI plagiarism is spreading in US colleges. It’s left professors feeling confused and exhausted.” by Beatrice Nolan, the article discusses how professors are becoming overwhelmed with trying to combat the issue of plagiarism in the college setting and how grading policies and teaching practices have had to be adapted to solve this issue. I find myself, as a future English teacher, worrying about this issue becoming prevalent in my teaching career. It now seems inevitable that students will use AI to help them generate papers or responses rather than create them on their own since AI is so easily accessible to students. Darren Hick, a college professor at Furman University, expressed a similar worry as he said in the article, “All plagiarism has become AI plagiarism at this point. I look back at the sort of assignments that I give in my classes and realize just how ripe they are for AI plagiarism” (Nolan). There is a newfound epidemic of AI plagiarism in education which is hard to stop with these resources being so easy to use and access. I find myself anxious and saddened at the idea of my students not being able to generate ideas or spark creative thoughts on their own since they are so accustomed to using this technology instead. I feel that the use of AI threatens individuality and uniqueness in the classroom setting and is causing greater detriment than many realize. Connecting this idea back to Butler’s writing, I noticed a different phenomenon occurring in which genetic difference and change seem to be honored by the Oankali, a species that constantly craves newness and genetic difference. Although many humans are seen to push back against the changes made by the Oankali, it is evident that changes were made to keep civilization going. Regardless of whether one believes the actions of the Oankali were justified, the changes made by the Oankali were crucial to bringing back civilization at the time. Many were opposed to the changes made by the Oankali, which is understandable due to the newness and uncertainty about the future which I find connecting back to the newness of AI technology and the uncertainty that comes with its integration into society.
Although new and at times unnerving, I find myself hopeful after reading Butler’s trilogy. I feel that changes in the way society functions may be able to be made with the consent and approval of people in mind and that positive changes to the way people treat the Earth and each other are possible. It’s evident that there is much room to debate on this subject being that AI is such a new technology however I hope to see a future in which AI is used solely to help people as opposed to being used to ignore consent, diminish creativity, and manipulate those who use it.