By Allison Ipema
It’s no secret that artificial intelligence (AI) is seeping into the information our population consumes. The majority of the social media sites we use, if not all, have introduced artificial intelligence features to their platforms. Without a doubt, artificial intelligence is used in our everyday lives, but the question is: is AI a blessing, or is it silently harming today’s youth?
The genre of artificial intelligence that we are most familiar with is generative AI. Tools such as Chat GPT and Grammarly are constantly utilized when the user is tasked with writing, whether it be an email or an essay. One popular example of this is Snapchat’s “My AI” feature which allows users to converse with their personal AI chatbot. Several other AI features include Facebook and Instagram’s Meta, Google Assistant, and even Google Maps. We use these features nearly every day, yet people are still leery about the existence of AI.
There is a stigma around artificial intelligence. Whether it be from the fear that robots will one day take over the world, or more pragmatically, the fear that robots will do every bit of thinking for us, one thing is clear: artificial intelligence is not inherently negative. Many people associate AI with Chat GPT and seem to forget about the fact that artificial intelligence systems existed long before the introduction of these interactive apps.
Our sudden increase in awareness of AI occurred in late 2022 with the introduction of Chat GPT. However, nearly 70 years prior, in 1955, the term artificial intelligence was coined. This was the same year that the first AI program, Logic Theorist, was developed. A more recent and commonly recognized AI product is Siri. Siri is an Apple exclusive feature that was introduced on the app store in February of 2010, just four years after the release of the iPhone. It was built into the iPhone shortly after, in 2011. Siri does not seem to have the controversy attached to it that recent AI has. Why is that? Is AI a bad thing? The answer is far from simple.
I spoke with a couple of DDHS sophomores to get their take on AI. Katelyn Stearns believes that AI negatively affects the population. She worries that AI may cause people to stop thinking for themselves and use AI as a crutch. On the other hand, Noah Hudson-Cavallino argues that AI can be a good thing if it’s used the right way. He explains that the “right way” is not using it for war or crime but for technological advances.
As seen in these interviews, it is clear that there is a wide variety of opinions on the topic of artificial intelligence. The only way we can definitively know whether or not artificial intelligence benefits us is with time.
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