Con: A Critique of Artificial Intelligence

by Ariel Lebow

The creation of AI has been a marvel of scientific exploration and prowess. The existence of AI algorithms are neither positive or negative.In fact AI can help in many different fields to bring society further, however moral and ethical considerations complicate the liberal usage. 

The first and foremost moral consideration is corporate use of AI to remove workers and entire fields. According to the IMF(International Monetary Fund), AI will affect 40% of jobs globally.

Due to the use of AI in place of human labor, portions of those affected may lose their jobs or have reduced wages.

Artists already constantly have to fight for their copyrights in a world where stealing and plagiarism is rampant. With the advent of AI, different “art” platforms have been developed. Due to the way that these programs work, lawsuits arguing that its application is art theft creating derivative works without permission or credit have become commonplace. The debate of whether AI art is legitimate has been challenged internationally, but the average artist has no way to prevent the use of their artwork by large AI companies. 

For students, academic dishonesty has existed since the creation of tests. Teachers have always tried to limit these behaviors leading to more creative ways being employed by students, creating a cycle of distrust between students and teachers. AI has upended this cycle, in a sense reducing it to child’s play in comparison. According to Stanford University, cheating behavior has increased by 60-70% because of the accessibility of AI. Understanding the increase of AI misuse, teachers have employed the use of AI finding algorithms. The problem with those programs checking for AI use is that they are largely inaccurate. Adding to this, even if these AI these checkers were good, in order to effectively curb cheating teachers would have to check every assignment that students submit, which is virtually impossible.

Despite the worst that AI has brought us, it has to be said that the technology of AI is revolutionary. With the use of AI to do calculations far beyond human capabilities or to count 10,000 galaxies visible by telescopes taking mankind’s ability and amplifying it, AI could be used to help humanity in so many ways, but that is only possible with strict legislation to limit applications of AI that prevent corporate greed from hurting people. 

Pro: Artificial Intelligence has Benefits

By Jean P.

As AI becomes more accessible, the positive uses of this technology widen. After its startling breakthrough, AI driven platforms have been developed left and right; most of them created with the purpose of making tasks easier and more efficient for our society. 

One of the most widely discussed advantages of Artificial Intelligence is the processing and analysis of data. Algorithms powered by AI can process and analyze more magnitudes of data than any human, allowing decision making based on data to be a lot easier and more efficient. This attribute of AI has been utilized by big companies like Microsoft to make features such as the Excel data analysis tool, Analysis ToolPak, and by Google to develop their search algorithms.

AI powered platforms are able to operate 24/7, while individuals work for eight hours a day. The prominent availability of AI can improve the efficiency of tasks, such as customer service during late hours, repetitive tasks, gathering of data, and many more.

Even though reducing costs is not a concern for many people, AI can exponentially cut down the expected cost per employee for many businesses in the long run. On the other hand, the implementation of AI is very costly, and although it is estimated that this won’t be the case forever, it’s unlikely that it will change in the near future.

The use of Artificial Intelligence can hugely impact the way our society works in the future. One of the biggest concerns of AI utilization is the possibility of unethical uses. Many AI based companies have created codes of ethics in order to ensure an ethical use of AI powered platforms. Even though having a code of ethics for your AI driven platform will not rule out the possibly ill-intentioned individuals, it is a step in the right direction for the development of this technology, and if used correctly, it could bring a very beneficial impact to society as a whole.