the capabilities of AI
Just in my short lifetime, I’ve seen the rise of the mainstream personal computer, internet, smartphone, social media, and electric cars. Technology has come so far, so fast, in the past few decades, and it isn’t slowing down.
You can’t read anything lately without hearing about advancements in AI technology. From AI-powered virtual assistants to self-driving cars, to music, and even art, AI has infiltrated nearly every aspect of our lives. But while many are hailing this as progress and excitedly looking forward to new technologies, I’m almost certain that AI is already ruining everything.
AI can do almost anything. It can create a voice that matches your appearance, predict your shopping habits, finish this blog post, and even analyze your social media posts to determine your mental health state. This level of intrusion into our lives is nothing short of alarming, and it’s especially concerning when we consider the potential implications for our mental and emotional wellness.
AI algorithms
Social media is a perfect example. When it was first created on platforms like Myspace and Facebook, social media provided you with a chronological timeline of what your friends were sharing. You could only scroll as long as there were new posts, otherwise your timeline would end.
With AI algorithms analyzing our posts, likes, and shares, we’re constantly bombarded with and endless stream of content that’s been carefully curated to cater to our preferences. While this might sound like a good thing at first glance, the reality is that it’s shaping our worldviews and perspectives in ways that may not be healthy for us in the long run. From filtering out opposing viewpoints to constantly reinforcing our preconceived notions, social media fueled by AI is creating an echo chamber that’s perpetuating division and intolerance.
Not to mention, it’s just straight-up addicting. These AI-powered algorithms are designed to keep us engaged on social media platforms for as long as possible. They achieve this by showing us content that appeals to our interests, beliefs, and emotions, often at the expense of accuracy and balance. This can lead to a distorted view of reality and further exacerbate mental health issues such as anxiety and depression.
AI “art”
I’ve been painting for 12 years. While I can’t paint a photorealistic image like a photographer, or a logo with perfect lines to print on a T-shirt like a graphic designer, I can create a blend of brush strokes and colors that can make you feel something. An AI can create an image, too, but AI doesn’t “feel” anything, so what is the use?
To make something beautiful? Commercially available “art” to mass produce with no labor costs? To demonstrate just how soulless this concept is, here is an AI-generated image of a “beautiful painting”:
What do you think? Would you pay money to hang that in your house? Proponents of AI “art” say that feeding the AI the exact prompt it needs to create the image you’re looking for is part of a new artistic process. Maybe so, but if you’re anything like me, you’ll notice that taking the artist out of the art is defeating the purpose.
Likewise, anyone can hit the shutter button on a camera. It takes a talented photographer to capture the feeling within a moment. Anyone literate can string together a few coherent sentences. It takes a writer to convey meaning. It takes a human to convey human emotion.
Creatives already struggle to make a living, hence the common term, “starving artist”. In a world where there are millions of genuine, human souls creating beautiful art of all kinds, we don’t need any art created by a machine, period.
just because it can, doesn’t mean it should
This is just the beginning of what AI can and will do if allowed to continue without limitations. When we consider the potential implications of AI in fields like healthcare, where machines are already being used to diagnose and treat patients, it becomes clear that we need to be more cautious and thoughtful about how we approach this rapidly evolving technology.
A common concern is that AI will replace many entry-level jobs. While some might argue that this frees people up to do more meaningful work because they won’t be focused on repetitive tasks, it also ignores the elephant in the room: unemployment. As an HR practitioner, I firmly believe that people should have opportunities to pursue meaningful work, but that also starts with building skills in an entry-level role.
Another huge area of concern is access to information. If AI is being implemented to write news stories, for example (which is already happening, by the way), we cannot count on the human scrutiny by which we naturally view and consume information. Hopefully you’re aware that all writers, including myself, are biased in one way or another, but what happens when the AI is biased? Or worse, when the AI begins quoting and receiving it’s informational input from other AI? Journalism relies heavily on the free exchange, thought, scrutiny, and bias employed by human journalists to report on their view of complicated situations. Without this crucial context, misinformation will become much worse than it already has.
AI is also impacting our relationships. While technology has brought us closer together in some ways, it’s also made it easier to disconnect emotionally. Apps like Tinder and Hinge, for example, rely on AI algorithms to match users based on superficial criteria, reducing the chances of finding a genuine connection with another person.
I could list hundreds of examples, but the point remains the same; AI is ruining everything. It’s taking away our agency, free will, opportunities for meaningful work, and our quality of life. It’s creating a world in which we’re constantly being bombarded by data, information, and opinions that have been carefully selected and processed by algorithms. It’s up to us to take a step back and start questioning the impact that this technology is having on our wellness – both as individuals and as a society.
In a world where genuine connection, creativity, spirit, and purpose are continually sought after, why are we spending our time and resources playing god, just to make something so fake?
-w.w.
more like this
Leave a Reply