For:
If there’s one thing anyone could have seen coming from a mile away, it’s AI. It may be “new technology” to the general public, but it’s been in development since the 1950s, and a recurring character in science fiction for almost as long.
Our species is defined by innovation. It’s human nature to want to make our lives more convenient, to streamline the tedious process of searching, reading long articles, and planning.
In the bigger picture, AI is simply the next step in humanity’s scientific and technological progress. It doesn’t exist on its own, either. For advancements to be made across disciplines, AI too must advance.
What this all boils down to is that AI is now just a fact of life. Once humans have invented something that makes their lives easier, it’s pretty hard to pry it away from us. With it becoming an increasingly prevalent part of our society, it is also becoming increasingly important to become AI literate. Just like how we needed to learn to use cellphones to adapt to the modern world and avoid the dangers that come with it, having a working knowledge of AI is essential for avoiding the threats that loom over us. With a bit of critical use and discernment, AI can become a tool of the present, not a dystopian future.
Against:
People often say that AI will soon be able to take over jobs that us humans currently hold, and as an aspiring author, it seems like my prospective career will be one of the first things taken over by robots made up of little lines of code. That doesn’t sound too exciting, so personally, I’d like AI to stay away from the jobs I’m attending three years of university to try and get.
The written content that it generates strips away the opportunity for creativity, replaces the need to think, and doesn’t even do a good job about it. So much of what it generates isn’t even close to being right, and you’ve got to put in the work to find the right answer anyway, so there’s no point.
And then there’s the video content which is almost always recognisable from a mile away and has this uncanny edge that makes me not want to look at it, but sometimes it’s hard to scroll past. That’s one of the worst parts. I don’t like the fact that artificial intelligence is capable of creating so much. A small fraction of AI could be helpful, but in all honesty, I’d rather see it all vanish.
