By Carter James
AI, while promising incredible advancements in various fields, also presents a host of challenges and problems. One of the foremost concerns is the potential for bias and discrimination in AI systems, which can perpetuate and exacerbate existing social inequalities. Ethical issues surrounding AI's decision-making processes, especially in critical domains like healthcare and criminal justice, demand careful attention. Moreover, AI raises profound questions about privacy and data security, as the massive amounts of data required for training AI models can be vulnerable to breaches and misuse. The rapid advancement of AI technology also brings about fears of widespread job displacement, as automation threatens to disrupt traditional employment sectors. Finally, there are concerns about the accountability and transparency of AI systems, as their complex algorithms can make it challenging to understand and address errors or unintended consequences. Balancing the potential benefits of AI with these pressing issues is a critical task for researchers, policymakers, and society as a whole.
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If you’ve read this far, know this: the paragraph you just read was written by AI. More specifically, ChatGPT. AI has been on the rise especially this year, but what is AI, and what does it stand for?
AI stands for “Artificial Intelligence,” and it has existed for as long as computer tech has existed. It is defined as “the intelligence of machines or software, as opposed to the intelligence of humans and animals.” It can be and has been used in a variety of ways, and although there have been advancements made with it, it also has quite a few problems as well.
There are, and have been, numerous concerns about AI, including but not limited to: bias and misinformation, potential data breaches, the taking over of our jobs, and even potentially taking over our world. I personally don’t think AI will ever take over the world, because it still needs a human mind in order for it to be created in the first place, but some of these concerns are not without reason.
In layman’s terms, a number of forms of AI learn from data, and make decisions based on what they have learned from that data. However, there are times when sets of data can be flawed, in more ways than one. An example of a flaw in data would be when, in 2015, Google Photos’ new image identification and labeling feature mistakenly identified a black man and a friend as gorillas. This is an example of a problem called “sample size disparity,” due to the unbalanced data. In response to this, Google “fixed” the problem by preventing the system from labeling anything as a gorilla. In 2023, Google Photos and other similar programs could not identify an actual gorilla. In this instance, the data was given to the AI by the programmers, but some forms of AI get data from the wider internet. This kind of data can be vulnerable to breaches and misuse, as the AI-generated paragraph says. Speaking of things that are AI generated, I would like to bring up a prevalent issue with AI, especially within this year.
Generative AI programs, such as ChatGPT and Midjourney, have been on the rise lately, and although they can be used for fun, some choose to use them as a substitute for writing or producing their own works, and that could lead to a couple issues. First is the issue of plagiarism, since these AI get ideas from various sources, and these could include copyrighted works. In fact, leading authors, such as Josh Grisham, have sued AI companies for using their work to train generative AI. There’s also the issue of laziness and unoriginality. Some people may try to pass off generated works and papers as their own. For instance, a few students have used ChatGPT as a substitute for actually writing their papers, and this could lead to a lack of learning experience and knowledge. In short, these programs can be used for fun, but they should not be used as replacements for actual writing and works.
If there’s one thing you should learn from this, it’s that, although the use of AI has been on the rise lately, you shouldn’t worry about it taking over the world, because the world will prevail in the end.
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…Was this article written by AI, or by a human? We may never know…
Happy Halloween!
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