Artificial intelligence is being paid a lot of attention right now. AI has been around in an archaic sense since the late 50’s, but its impact on the world has been seen more than ever in the past year.
ChatGPT was released in November 2023. Since then, many have used and talked about AI. Not just ChatGpt, but many other AI sources, including Bard, DALL-E, Midjourney, and Staff Diffusion, have been drawing the attention of millions of users.
This past year there have been many changes impacting AI, including the advancement in natural language processing (NLP) technologies. A tool called GPT-4 makes it possible for machines to understand and be able to speak in human languages with complete accuracy. This has led to better customer service chatbots and better translation services.
These changes have been improving and developing over many years but this year has included much more development. The COVID-19 pandemic has played a role because it created a wide variety of the need for more technology solutions.
For instance, AI was used to be able to create a vaccine faster than ever before. Remote learning and work also improved AI tools due to the urgency of needing them.
AI is being placed within many technologies and methods. Machine learning algorithms which help allow computers to learn from data, are at the base of most AI systems. The algorithms are trained by large datasets to be able to recognize patterns and make forecasts.
An example appears in healthcare, where AI is trained to recognize thousands of medical images to learn how to identify tumors and to improve services. Another example is in a company's chatbot system, the AI bot is trained to be able to understand what people are saying and be able to communicate back with people.
People have used artificial intelligence for many purposes including, writing emails, planning their vacations, impersonating different musicians, and even designing buildings. AI is not going away at any point. It has been showing the potential it has to possibly change the way people live. According to local news CNN, some brilliant people like Bill Gates, think that AI could even fight climate change and develop global equality.
Others believe AI is a threat to society. Citizens across the globe have fear and anxiety about the possibilities of AI. How it affects life in the future is up to people's opinion.
“AI is already prevalent in almost every aspect and how it goes in the future really depends on young people and how they vote and how they learn how to accept it into their life. We already have AI in our military, we have AI in some of our museums acting as curators,” NHS computer science teacher Kristin Violette said. “Young people need to be educated on AI, how it works, the ethics and most importantly, the algorithmic biases that can be put in AI. That is a big concern of mine.”
Despite its usefulness, artificial intelligence has caused fear and anxiety in citizens. AI is being used by many people who have many different opinions on AI. Many companies including Google, Apple, and Microsoft use AI. It isn’t just big companies though, educators, and even governments, are using AI to improve their practices. Some feel that it is good for its algorithms and its highly rational system.
While AI has many positives there are also many challenges and problems with it. There is a large percentage of Americans who have trust in AI because there are robotic arms and mobile wheelchairs that help elderly patients regain physical ability. There are robotics legs that also help children retain their ability to walk. One major concern that people have despite the positives is job displacement. As AI systems become more capable of difficult things, there is more of a risk of people losing their jobs in many fields. There is also the issue of AI being biased. If the data being used to train AI systems is biased then the AI will be biased also. This is problematic in areas like law enforcement and hiring. Rushed performances on AI can create biases with race and gender. There are also concerns that AI can be misused. People are highly influenced by AI which some people believe is deregulated. Therefore, AI makes an impact in many different areas.
“I have to be pro AI. I think it is amazing how we have this technology and how we have shaped it and what it can do, which is also kind of scary. Some people are scared that it will replace humans but I believe there are two great commodities in this world, love and time. Ai can help us with time and save us time to do things we love but AI can’t replace the intrinsic needs we have as humans, nothing can replace a cuddle with a puppy, a hug from a loved one, or laughter with a friend. So I am definitely pro for where it belongs but when we start trying to replace these other social and emotional aspects then I think I might start changing my attitude,” Violette said.
The future of AI can be exciting but also very uncertain. AI will most likely develop many more advances at a rapid pace, leading to maybe more innovation problems. AI could be ethical and could benefit many people but on the other hand, it could affect us in many ways. In closing, AI has affected the world in many ways this past year. It has improved healthcare and education and is transforming industries like automotive and agriculture. There are many challenges and ethical concerns but could also have many potential benefits.
Comments