As every second passes, artificial intelligence — otherwise known as AI — gets stronger and more sophisticated. Depending on one’s stance on technology, they might expect the improvement of AI is a great thing and can benefit the future of our society. Alternatively, one could believe that AI gaining more power would be detrimental and cause more harm than good. Though the truth is that both points of view, when it comes to AI are valid in their own right. So, while weighing the two possible outcomes of letting AI control our lives, the main question comes into place: Would the advancement of AI become more useful, or cause more damage to our society?
A prominent factor that interferes with people’s perception of AI is not understanding its true definition. To put it in a less broad, though still effective meaning, AI is a type of program mainly used on computer systems that are able to perform a variety of tasks or produce user-specified output that normally requires human intelligence. As the first major technology of the world that can seriously replace, or even excel human intelligence, it is not something that should be overlooked, no matter one’s opinion on technology. For reference, currently, the most supreme tasks that can be carried out by AI include creating hyper-realistic images and videos, extremely practical assistance in all forms needed, top-notch professional writing in all styles, and even automated driving control. Nowadays, it seems developers of AI technology have no plan to stop its growth, despite the fact that society might be better off without it. Therefore, it’s definitely worth it to acquire knowledge on and a grasp of AI to a straight and preparable level before the choice of usage takes off out of the general public’s control.
However, some people actually owe AI their lives, literally. There are a variety of cases that have occurred to prove this, such as AI conducting an event that leads up to the saving of a human life, or instances where bleak, complete life-saving actions are performed. A majority of these stories deal with AI exceeding man-made services, specifically in medical territories. Just over a year ago, Joseph Coates faced a terminal prognosis from a rare blood disorder called POEMS syndrome, a condition that can cause severe damage to the nerves, organs and skin. Dealing with this lethal tragedy, Joseph’s girlfriend wasn’t ready to quit. Over a sequence of events, it soon led to Joseph taking an untested AI-generated drug combination, which ultimately saved his life. Regarding the fatality of his state and the timeframe for a human-prescriber to develop a possible cure, the AI takes the upper hand. Hypothetically, addressing whether this specific outcome never happened, the time and succession rate for a human to determine a solution would be dangerously longer, causing Joseph’s condition to grow vastly worse, eventually leading to his passing.
As the life-saving events of AI with Joseph Coates are extremely necessary in our world, other events composed by AI are absolutely detrimental. Jeeva Shanmugam, a freelance writer, experienced AI disrupting, taking over, and eventually replacing his passion. Jeeva first started taking notice when everyone could suddenly become a “writer” by just entering any prompt to an AI program, such as an essay, poem, e-mail or even a fairly sized article. As someone who has had writing revolve around his entire life, at first Jeeva thought this new technology would be an amazing factor in his passion. Though with an unexpected turn of events, AI started stripping away Jeeva’s worth. Freelance writing jobs dropped by an astonishing 21% and the majority of publishers started rejecting man-made work because it didn’t “sound AI-perfect.” However, Jeeva, a highly persistent person, constantly fought for himself and others in the same position. Yet, with AI’s “Perfection” and continuous growth, it always beat Jeeva in every possible use. With his main source of income, passion, and purpose wiped away within a seven-month period, it’s safe to say Jeeva’s life, everything he put his time, work and soul into, has become of no value — demolished by artificial intelligence.
In essence, taking note of how Joseph Coates’ life got rescued, along with how Jeeva Shanmugam’s life underwent raze, it can be difficult to contemplate if our society as a whole would be better off without this type of technology. But unfortunately, the growth and continuation in production of AI is not in the public’s hands, and most likely won’t be anytime soon. Although since people all have their own free thoughts and perspectives, it’s important to decide where one stands regarding AI to prepare for future encounters. So in conclusion, when doing productive research, using provided examples and many other sources alike, it’s crucially important to make a decision for ourselves, to protect or embrace from the repercussions of AI.
