It’s safe to say, at this point, we all know that artificial intelligence (AI) has invaded every single aspect of our lives. Be it art, film, media, literature, school, work or simple daily living, but what implications does this all have on our lives? How is this more dangerous than we think? What can we do to lessen AI use?
Over the past few years, the accuracy of AI has increased exponentially. This has had widespread effects and dangerous implications. Chatbots are getting more accurate, and generated photos are becoming more realistic. The number of people I see every day who use AI for simple tasks is surprising. AI is allowing people to become unwilling to do simple tasks well within their abilities-like solving problems and answering questions for class because AI can do it within seconds, with no mental strain, no creativity and no problem solving. According to a meta-analysis done by the NIH, using AI decreases active recall, problem solving skills and critical thinking;, think about your cognitive health next time you choose to use AI.
Not only is AI extremely harmful to your mind, but it is also becoming incredibly dangerous for the environment. The amount of energy and water that AI data centers use is putting communities and the environment at risk. The Environmental and Energy Studies Institute (EESI) published a piece highlighting that large data centers can use upwards of 5 million gallons of water per day. The use of this amount of water and energy has an impact on surrounding communities as the quality of water and energy sources deplete.
Additionally, it is terrifying that AI is getting hyperrealistic. Truly, it is difficult to differentiate between real and AI videos, images, people and songs. It takes an incredible amount of attention to be able to tell sometimes. There are actresses, content creators, and songs that are all AI, and some of them are so realistic that it takes viewers and listeners quite a while to figure out that they aren’t real. When people can’t distinguish what is real and what is AI generated it raises so much concern for media, news, art, and literature.
Artificial Intelligence needs to stop creeping into every aspect of life. Every app uses some form of AI which, in many cases, is completely uncalled for. The rate at which AI has been applied to almost everything is worrisome, and it deserves more attention.
Arguments can be made which say that using AI saves time on tasks and helps people come up with ideas for research and writing. The correct uses of AI are up to the individual user to decide, and many use AI for things such as time management but condemn it for other uses like image and video generation. However, the effects of AI use must be considered before it is used, and it is my opinion that the overall environmental and societal impact of most AI use is too high a cost.
Dickinson has many excellent resources to use in place of AI. The Norman M. Eberly Multilingual Writing Center, the Quantitative Reasoning (QR) Center, PAC Peer Tutoring Program, and professors are all here to answer the questions that AI can do but at a much lower cost to you and to the environment.