Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become increasingly prevalent in many people’s lives over the years. It has grown extremely powerful as people have utilized it and contributed to its advancement. This tool affects many people, including students, teachers, and those who have heard of it and become interested.
AI has many functions, such as writing essays in seconds or creating videos that look real. It is used worldwide, and almost any computer can access an AI program. It is used in schools, workplaces, and even Hollywood and the music industry. According to Tableau.com, “It all started when the first AI was programmed in 1955, which was created to prove theorems.” Ever since then, AI has become increasingly powerful, leading to one of the most powerful tools today: ChatGPT.
AI is affecting many aspects of society and the world, including finance, education, the environment, and art. AI affects finance and economics, as it is used by bankers or institutions to detect fraud, conduct audits, or evaluate loans. Companies use AI to make the best financial decisions and to invest in products that may benefit the company.
Education is also affected by AI because students can use it as a learning tool or, more commonly, to cheat on assignments. According to Adam Zewe, a worker at MIT News, “AI also uses high energy consumption, which contributes to high gas emissions and water pollution through cooling data centers.”
AI is also starting to affect art, music, and the movie industry. People use AI to create art, such as paintings and drawings, rather than learning and doing it themselves. Entire AI songs have been created and streamed across many platforms for people to listen to. Xania Monet is the first known AI artist to debut on a Billboard radio airplay chart, and because of this success, more will follow. AI is also affecting the movie industry in many ways, including replacing logos and actors. For example, in the movie “The Brutalist,” AI was used to enhance Adrian Brody’s Hungarian accent for portions where he spoke the language. He ended up winning an Oscar for this role, which shows the power AI has on the industry.
It is likely that AI will have both negative and positive effects on our future, affecting many people’s lives. One way it will become a problem is by replacing communicative jobs to save money and avoid paying employees. This could be jobs like customer service, which many companies have already replaced because AI can model human speech. It is theorized that 44% of employed people’s skills will be disrupted in the next five years. Deepfakes and misinformation have also increased, and as AI becomes increasingly more powerful, there will be a rise in scams and misinformation. Students and companies also use AI to generate ideas rather than relying on their own minds.
AI also affects the environment through water pollution and can harm ecosystems. Data centers (used to house the technology that produces AI) use gallons of water per prompt, leading to many towns in America.
Nevertheless, AI also has many positive effects on our future that can help people in many different ways. SHS history teacher Hannah Zimmerman noted, “When the internet first came out, people were unsure if it was good or bad. I think that this is how AI is now and that a lot of things that could be good or bad are quite obvious, but there is also a lot that we are not so sure about.”
AI can help people find information that is helpful or fix things they would have missed before. SHS English teacher Christina Dimitri commented, “I think it could be useful in some ways, like for me, if I am teaching a book I haven’t read in a while, then trying to remember what happened or what key topics I need to focus on, then I can see it as a helpful tool.”
AI has many positive and negative aspects that will improve or worsen as it continues to be updated and becomes more powerful. It will be a common tool in our society in the near future and is already affecting us in many ways. It is important for people to know these so they can see the good and bad ways of using AI. It is now part of life, so it is better to be educated than confused and worried.