Hi all!

Today I am discussing what is wrong with AI and ways (if any) it can be used responsibly. In a nutshell, artificial intelligence is a computer technology designed to simulate human intelligence. In recent years, it has infiltrated the globe like a parasite. Whether it’s blowing up your algorithm, assisting you virtually, recommending you something to watch, calculating your travel-time to work etc – you cannot escape it. So how can something that helpful possibly be bad? Let’s discuss! 

1.) Who Needs Humans? 

The sad reality is that AI is much faster, simpler and cost-effective to use over paying/supporting artists that have made a living via their creative talents. Slowly, slowly technology has begun to replace human beings. For those of us unaffected, it is our responsibility to make ethical choices. If you can pay a graphic designer for their time and efforts, you should. Those in the field have reported losing income and even their livelihood because of what artificial intelligence can produce. What saddens me most is seeing major corporations and wealthy influencers using AI. There really is no excuse to cheat someone out of work when you have the adequate means to compensate them. 

Before I continue, let me address the elephant in the room. The picture above is an AI generated photo of myself. For Halloween last year, I used a feature on a photo-editing app that was trending at the time. Past me was not aware of what I am now. I hold myself accountable and would never produce something like that again. However, as mentioned in my cancel-culture post (read here), if you attack an uneducated person, they cannot grow to do better. It’s those that know – yet continue to feed the machine – we should worry about. 

2.) That Isn’t Me! 

Let’s discuss the darker side of AI. Like anything exposed to human nature, it can quickly be taken and twisted to suit nefarious purposes. Artificial intelligence is becoming more adept at resembling a human face and body. Enter deepfakes. This is synthetic media (images, audio, video etc) created or manipulated using AI. They are extremely realistic; depicting someone saying or doing something they never did. For example: those seeking revenge can place their victim’s likeness in a pornographic video; sharing it with the world. Cybercriminals can use audio cloning to impersonate a CEO authorising fraudulent transactions. Political figures can have their campaigns skewed to influence public opinion, disrupting elections. The list goes on and on. It’s terrifying to witness the many ways humans exploit artificial intelligence for their own unethical agendas. In an instant, your reputation can be completely tarnished, even if the person on the screen that looks and sounds like you, isn’t you. Scary! 

3.) An F For Effort. 

In some ways, modern technological advances make life easier. It’s much safer to drive with a navigation system, over glancing at a physical map when your eyes should be on the road. As an introvert, I am personally thankful for self-service checkout systems. However, the rise of artificial intelligence has signficantly lowered the level of effort one puts in professionally, academically and personally. For example, more and more students are using AI to write their school papers. Not only does this make life more difficult for the teachers, it removes the hard-earned aspect of studying altogether. Is a university graduate really qualified when a computer did all the work for them? Did they truly deserve their degree? Similarly, there has been an increase of those seeking employment to use AI for their job applications. When it is time for them to be interviewed, their credibility falls apart. I understand needing prompts to get started but when the final product wasn’t touched by you at all, how is that fair? What happened to applying yourself? 

4.) Global Harming. 

One of the largest gaps in knowledge is just how harmful AI usage is for the planet. Every single time you type a prompt for the computer to generate, it is working overtime. Not simple web searches. I’m talking about asking artificial intelligence to create something for you. Something that causes it to think for several minutes. Just to train large-scale AI models, requires immense amounts of electricity. Not to mention, cooling down the servers warrants millions of litres of freshwater. Whilst AI could solve enironmental issues in the long-run, the current drain of resources cannot be ignored. When you think about this globally, that’s billions of people contributing to water depletion, carbon emissions and electronic waste. If you want to avoid being part of the problem, don’t push the system to conjure a detailed image of you as a superhero. It’s not worth it. 

5.) Can AI Be Used Responsibly? 

The million dollar question is: can AI be used responsibly? The answer is yes but a lot of the onus rests on the creator. Do they have safeguards for privacy in place? Does it abide by ethical guidelines? If it is going out into the world for humans to access, it needs to be manufactured in a way that stops things like deepfakes (see above) from existing. AI should be used as a tool, not a shortcut. It should help formulate your thoughts, not write your entire thesis. If you are promoting yourself or a business, approach an artist before depriving them of a job. When it breaches privacy, distorts the truth, impacts the environment, replaces a person who deserves your money, scams another, enables your laziness etc, then it’s a problem. Once you’re aware of the impact, you can make better choices. You don’t have to save the world, just do your small part. Every little bit helps. As artificial intelligence continues to evolve, the best thing we can do is be educated. 

Thank you so much for reading! What are your thoughts on this topic?

Peace & Love xoxo