The Threat of AI

AI is a development that has been surging toward us since the late 1950s. AI is something most of us are familiar with, whether you know Chat GPT or Google AI you’ve probably encountered AI at some point recently. AI is often seen as the largest technical advancement in our time so far, but does it have drawbacks? Could it be a threat?

In 2023 many world tech leaders, including Elon Musk, founder of Tesla and SpaceX, called to put a pause on AI experimentation, as the technology could “pose profound risks to society and humanity”. But the question is; why is AI such a threat?

Jobs

A point that is being mentioned more and more frequently as of late is the issue of AI taking over entry-level, jobs. AI can be an incredibly useful tool in healthcare, research, and manufacturing, however AI is now often being used by corporations in entry-level positions such as research, memo writing, and customer service. This is good for big companies because they have less salary to pay, but bad for the working class because you’re less valued as an employee if there is a technology that can do your job for you. It’s also bad for new immigrants in Canada because AI is taking positions that would be open for newer or less experienced citizens.

Privacy and Security

In China, AI is used for facial recognition and even the tracking of citizens. This creates a lack of privacy between the people of China and the Chinese government. A similar thing is happening in the states, with AI being used in police departments to predict crime, the problem with an algorithm influenced by arrests is that it has a higher impact on black communities in the U.S. that is inaccurate to the actual risk of crime. This creates the risk of AI being turned into an authoritarian weapon.

Creativity

Additionally, the creative aspect of our lives is something that is incredibly important, and now being undermined by the use of AI. Writers, artists, podcasters, and musicians are all astonishingly crucial to our lives, and arts and creativity are often held as one of our most human qualities. Generative AI such as Chat GPT and many others is threatening to infiltrate the arts community on a large scale. It is becoming increasingly harder to tell AI-generated art, like traditional art and music and short stories, from real human-made art. This is making it more and more difficult to succeed in the arts, especially as an amateur or young person. This means that we are sacrificing genuine art that takes effort, thought, and creativity for lower-quality artificial mocks that are pushing humans out of our own market.

Loss of Humanity

Finally, an over-dependence on AI could be catastrophic for us as humans. With less human creativity, a need for labour, and general privacy, could likely result in a loss of human influence in day-to-day life. In fact over use of AI in society and life could lead to a lack of social skills, empathy, and general human interaction. This would mean losing one of the main attributes that, according to most; makes us human in the first place.

In conclusion, it is important to recognize the downsides of AI, and use critical thinking -- a skill that many people are lacking nowadays -- we have to ask questions about the purpose of AI, and the intentions of those who made it. 

Ahmad, Sayed, et al. “Impact of artificial intelligence on human loss in decision making, laziness and safety in education.” Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, vol. 10, no. 311 (2023), 2023. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-023-01787-8.

Delaney, Kevin J. “The Future of the Entry-Level Job.” Time, 16 June 2024, https://time.com/charter/6988913/the-future-of-the-entry-level-job/. Accessed 18 October 2024.

“How Generative AI Could Disrupt Creative Work.” Harvard Business Review, 13 April 2023, https://hbr.org/2023/04/how-generative-ai-could-disrupt-creative-work. Accessed 18 October 2024.

Thomas, Mike. “14 Dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI).” Built In, https://builtin.com/artificial- intelligence/risks-of-artificial-intelligence. Accessed 18 October 2024.