To talk about artificial intelligence now is very different from talking about artificial intelligence ten years ago. The concept of AI has been discussed in books, in movies, and around dinner tables, but up until recently that concept has been primarily discussed in the abstract. With ChatGPT arrival bringing generative AI into mainstream reality the conversation has shifted to be less sci-fi centric becoming one with roots in reality.
Discussions about AI have many sides, with some increasingly excited and defensive and others are increasingly worried and critical. When I think about my own thoughts on artificial intelligence I often find myself in an awkward middleground. Most of the people I encounter in my own personal life lean heavily to one way or the other to the point where I often disagree heavily with both sides.
As someone who was born with a severe hearing loss my thinking about AI tends to extend to those with disabilities. For the deaf and hard of hearing generative AI could provide live and locationally aware captioning or ASL translation. For the blind AI could provide real time audio descriptions. Both of these benefits would allow a greater amount of independence and sense of belonging. Disabilities aside, as a student I can see some benefits of AI. Students with increasingly busy schedules who otherwise would not be able to attend office or tutoring hours could benefit from the access to assistance AI gives them.
On the flip side however the same “access to assistance” which could benefit people could be taken advantage of and used unwisely. Not to mention the environmental concerns and programmed bias this technology contains. The biggest of the two I would argue is the programmed bias. This is not to say I am not worried about the environmental effects but programmed bias has the potential to make all the problems we already face a whole lot worse. Programmed bias in Ai is especially dangerous as people will use AI and think that because it is computerized, it is unbiased. Which unfortunately computers carry code and code can be biased.
In reviewing a slideshow created by Yumi Wilson, an expert on AI in journalism, I was provided with slides that highlighted the benefits and drawbacks of AI use in the field of journalism. One part of the presentation highlighted documented cases of AI in which there were: factual errors, plagiarism, fabricated authors and topics treated insensitively. Another part of the presentation highlighted cases in which AI has benefited journalism: pattern recognition across datasets, translation and transcription, document analysis, among others. In an Ideal world “AI handles volume and pattern. Journalists handle judgment, relationship, and accountability”
It was interesting to read about Roshan Namgostar’s projects: KyleGPT and TrumpGPT. As a computer science major it was interesting to hear from someone who has a very different and much more intimate connection to what it means to be online and interact with different platforms. For him the worries that come to mind when it comes to AI is the concern about how our data is being collected, stored, processed and used to train AI. Additionally, his concern is AI will become so integrated into our economy, culture, and education to the point that we will come to rely on AI. The way he resists this is by “prioritizing human connections and prioritizing human intelligence”.
In an assignment for another class I had to watch a film called Arrival, directed by Denis Villeneuve, while not necessarily a film about AI it does offer some relevant perspectives into how we should approach AI. Mainly it calls into question for me as to whether AI is a weapon, tool, or gift. Ultimately, when thinking about AI I think we need to have more personal accountability and greater sense of consciousness and self-awareness. Both society and its individuals have to grapple with what it looks like to be conscious and self-aware in a world that now contains AI. To be conscious of AI comes in recognizing the landscape that it is operating in, to be self-aware of AI comes in reflecting on how our own existence is being shaped within this landscape.
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