Living in the Age of AI
AI, or, Artificial Intelligence has taken over in recent years. AI is the capability of a machine to perform functions associated with human intelligence. Living in the age of AI has opened up my eyes to the potential positive and negative factors that it can impose. Through the PBS video, "In the Age of AI," I gained insight into what AI actually is, and how it will affect my future.
The documentary mentions Emperor Yao, who devised the very complex game entitled, "Go." In Seoul, South Korea, Google created a computer program entitled, "AlphaGo." It 2016, it was finalized in order to play the game against one of the greatest players, Lee Sedol. Everyone was convinced that Lee would outsmart the Artificial Intelligence. However, the AI won four games, and after winning one of them, Lee finally resigned. It was discovered that this computer program thought of strategies for the game, that humans had never even thought of before. This official unveiling of AI was a realization of just how smart computer programs can be.
The most common concern of AI is whether or not they will completely invade and take over our jobs. This concern is very prevalent in the city of Saginaw, Michigan. Many United Auto Workers are completely outraged, as their jobs are being taken away each and every day. Unemployment in that city is at 6%, with poverty being at an all time high. The reason for this is due to automation, which poses the challenge of how the next generation will respond.
Robot Manufacturers don't see this as a negative in the least. They claim that even though they are helping to reduce some jobs, they are ultimately working to create more. According to Forbes, the need for data specialists, specialized researchers, and ethics experts are at an all time high. These jobs also highly compensated, since new AI systems require them. Therefore, in this case if you can't beat them, you might as well join them.
The documentary brought up a new perspective that I hadn't thought of. That is the influence of AI on the retail industry. When I thought of AI taking jobs from people, I would have never considered it to invade jobs like cashiers, payrollers, finance, etc. Even Wall Street is struggling with the disruption that is automations. We have already seen it in fast-food restaurants like McDonald's through the kiosk option. This is an alternative to using human beings, as it provides a faster, easier, and more pleasant experience for customers every time.
We must also take the children who's parents have lost their jobs due to automation into account. This is since they have lower educational attainment throughout their lives. This includes often repeating a grade, becoming a dropout, and other negative effects. Since they are exposed to higher adult stress and tension, signs of depression start to rise.
Successful tech companies have stated that, “Ai is the ultimate tool of wealth creation.” Surveillance capitalism was mentioned in the documentary, and suggests that private human experience can influence human prediction in the future. Many smart technologies including the Alexa or Google will spy on our lives as they actually live in the home. If you are feeling sick and ask Alexa, "What are the symptoms for the flu?" technology can use this to advertise certain medicines that you will need later on. The smart voices are also trained to recognize your voice, cadence and other factors to truly understand who you are.
We should not be completely terrified by the wave of technology that is taking over. There are people like, Alastair Mactaggart, who are looking out for our well-deserved privacy. He needed 600,000 signatures in order to pass a privacy law. As a result, he achieved an 80% approval, and got the law passed. He says there are 3 rules we should know when dealing with technical privacy.
1. Right to Know
2. Right to Say No
3. Third Party Opt-Out
This law and set of rules protects and keeps us aware when a company tries to sell our information, without us even knowing.
Although it is nearly impossible to completely stop the creation of AI, we should at least be educated as it majorly affects our lives. This includes pondering if a robot can take over a possible career option. The documentary stated that the current use of AI isn't aligned with building a better society. However, we have the opportunity to change that. This can be achieved by continuing to stay educated, and one step ahead of the new technology for the future.
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