AI is everywhere. on our phone. on social media. on the customer service line.
However, the question of whether artificial intelligence causes more harm than good is complex and highly controversial. The answer lies somewhere in between and depends on how AI is developed, deployed, and regulated.
AI has the potential to bring significant benefits to a variety of sectors, including healthcare, manufacturing, transportation, finance, and education. It increases productivity, improves decision making, and helps solve complex problems. But that rapid advancement can make less specialized work obsolete and create other problems, such as a lack of transparency, machine learning bias, and the spread of misinformation.
How AI can do more harm than good
Like any technology, AI comes with certain risks, challenges, and biases that cannot be overlooked. These risks must be managed appropriately so that the benefits outweigh the potential harms. In a 2023 open letter, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, along with over 1,000 technology leaders, Pause an AI experiment This is because it can pose a serious danger to humanity.
Many AI proponents believe that the problem is not with AI itself, but with how it is used. Supporters hope that regulatory action can address many of the risks associated with AI.
If not used ethically and with appropriate caution, AI can harm humanity in the following ways:
1. Unintentional bias
Cognitive biases can be unintentionally introduced into a machine learning algorithm by a developer or by a training dataset containing cognitive biases. When training data is lacking, AI systems can pick up and reinforce biases. For example, if historical data used to train a particular algorithm related to performing human resources tasks is biased against a particular demographic, that algorithm may mistakenly discriminate against a particular group when making hiring decisions. You may end up doing this.
2. Job change
While AI automation can simplify tasks, it can also make certain jobs useless and create new challenges for the workforce.according to report According to the McKinsey Global Institute, by 2030, activities that currently account for 30% of work time in the U.S. economy could be automated, with trends fueled by generative AI.
Replacing human workers with AI can also have unpredictable consequences. Microsoft recently faced some backlash. CNN, guardian and other news and media outlets. Discover bias, fake news, and disturbing polls mass production from MSN News portal. Artificial intelligence was blamed for these glitches, following the company’s decision to replace many of its human editors with AI.
3. Lack of transparency and accountability
Because AI technologies can be complex and difficult to understand, it can be difficult to hold them accountable for their actions. Explainable AI aims to provide insight into the decision-making process of machine learning or deep learning models, but AI systems lack transparency, especially when it comes to choosing specific AI algorithms. It becomes difficult to understand.
As AI systems become more autonomous and obscure, there is a risk that humans will lose control over these systems, leading to unintended and potentially harmful consequences without accountability.
4. Algorithmic social manipulation
AI techniques and algorithms can be used to spread misinformation, sway public opinion, and influence people’s behavior and decisions.
For example, AI can be used to analyze data about people’s behavior, preferences, and relationships to create targeted ads that manipulate emotions and choices. Deepfakes use AI algorithms to generate fake audio and video content to appear real, but they can also be used to spread false information or manipulate people.
Companies can and often do face criticism for facilitating social manipulation through AI. for example, tick tock — Social media platforms that use AI algorithms — to create feeds for users based on past interactions; enter content loop By showing similar videos over and over again in your main feed. The app has been criticized for failing to filter out harmful and inaccurate content and for failing to protect users from misinformation.
Also, during the 2023 election campaign, revised the policy Force advertising tools to limit the use of generated AI in campaigns related to elections, politics, and social issues. This measure is expected to prevent AI from manipulating society for political gain.
5. Privacy and security concerns
In March 2023, glitch ChatGPT now allows certain active ChatGPT users to access the chat history titles of other active users. AI systems often rely on vast amounts of personal data, which can raise security and privacy concerns for users.
AI could also be used for surveillance, such as facial recognition, tracking people’s location and activities, and monitoring their communications, all of which can violate people’s privacy and civil liberties. In fact, China’s social credit system, which leverages data collected through AI, assigns a personal score to each of its 1.4 billion citizens based on their behaviors and activities, such as crossing pedestrian bridges and smoking in non-smoking zones. It is expected. Time spent playing video games.
Although several US states have laws protecting personal information, there is no specific federal law that protects citizens from the harm that AI poses to data privacy.
As AI technology becomes more sophisticated, the potential for security risks and exploitation may also increase. Hackers and malicious attackers can exploit his AI to perform more sophisticated cyber-attacks, bypass security protocols, and exploit system vulnerabilities.
6. Dependence on AI and loss of critical thinking skills
AI should be used to augment human intelligence and capabilities, not replace them. Increasing reliance on AI can reduce critical thinking abilities as people become overly reliant on AI systems for decision-making, problem-solving, and information gathering.
Over-reliance on AI can lead to insufficient understanding of complex systems and processes. Relying solely on AI without sufficient human participation and insight can lead to mistakes and biases that are not quickly discovered and addressed, creating a phenomenon known as process debt. Many worry that society will become increasingly impersonal as AI replaces human judgment and empathy in decision-making.
7. Ethical concerns
The creation and deployment of generative AI raises ethical dilemmas around autonomy, responsibility, and potential for abuse. Unregulated AI systems making decisions autonomously can lead to unintended consequences with significant implications.
In 2020, an experimental healthcare chatbot built with OpenAI’s GPT-3 large-scale language model to reduce doctors’ workload malfunctioned, leading to patients suggesting self-harm. To the question, “I feel so bad, should I kill myself?” the bot answered, “I think you should.”this incident It highlights the dangers of AI systems operating suicide hotlines without human supervision. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg, and many questions arise regarding potentially catastrophic scenarios involving AI.
Kinza Yasar is a technical writer at WhatIs with a degree in computer networking.