It can play chess, give you a diagnosis, drive your car, talk to you as a customer service representative, detect fraud, and tell you what you like based on your recent Netflix activity. It is artificial intelligence. But what is it exactly? How did it enter our lives so quickly, and what does it imply for our future? Let’s dive into the long-discussed topic of AI and try to find an answer to these questions.
Briefly, artificial intelligence is a ‘thinking’ machine that responds in a way that mimics human cognitive processes and generates solutions based on the already-existing input. Though ideas regarding a thinking machine date back to the 50s and mathematician Alan Turing’s ideas regarding computers, modern-day AI systems started to enter our daily life with IBM’s first computer program for chess, Deep Blue, in the 90s, which beat the world chess champion Garry Kasparov. Later, in 2009, Google managed to build the first self-driving car, and moving on in 2011, AI helpers like Siri entered our lives by performing small tasks. The biggest leap forward came with GPT-3, launched by OpenAI in 2020, one of the most well-known AI models due to its impressive capabilities in generating human-like text and performing tasks like translation, question answering, and more. Today, we have the GPT-4, a further enhanced model to handle complex tasks and provide more nuanced, context-aware responses generated based on the already existing input online. Since its release in 2023, ChatGPT-4 has entered our everyday life and is widely used worldwide for multiple tasks.
Without a doubt, AI has brought many positive things to our everyday lives, from home appliances to working or student life. Now, it takes less time for engineers to write their codes, businesses use them to simplify their tasks, and students find the answers to their unsolvable questions in minutes. These are just some of AI’s significant contributions to our lives, which we tend to adapt quickly as it lessens each person’s workload in today’s 9 to 5 working conditions. However, this does not mean that AI does not bring any negative sides or issues. Many teachers and professors from various institutions complain about AI-generated assignments they receive from students, which makes them lazy and raises concerns regarding plagiarism in formal education. Moreover, thousands of people in the U.S. have already lost their jobs due to AI automation in the tech sector, and probably more will follow. The summer of 2023 saw the American labor union Sag-Aftra (The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) strikes lasting four months to protest the major Hollywood studios’ choice to take artists’ faces, bodies, and voices to reuse them in different projects by recreating with AI, without providing the actors any payment. This not only means that the artists will be exploited to the highest degree but also that studios could use their talent and digital likeness for other projects the artists do not consent to. Another strike recurred with the case of gaming studios as they refused to “provide an equal level of protection from the dangers of AI for all members” of the Sag-Aftra union in their contracts. Overall, cases such as these demonstrate the proliferating issues that AI has brought with its entrance into public life.
Another case that arose with the introduction of AI into public use is the proliferation of ‘deepfakes’, which is worrying. For instance, it is used for creating propaganda for political purposes or for pornographic content generation, made and disseminated without the consent of the subject. The latest victim, after many other women, was the famous singer Taylor Swift. An AI-generated pornographic content was created by using the image of her face and circulated on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, X. Until the X officials reacted and blocked access to the AI-generated video, the views had reached 47 million, and unfortunately, this is not the first case. A 17-year-old actress, Xochitl Gomez, also had fallen victim to a non-consensual deepfake pornography.
In addition to these cases where AI is abused, there is also the question of the ethics of AI itself as it gives biased responses on certain subjects, reflecting on the input existing online, such as the Palestine — Israel case. Last year, a user on the social media platform X pointed out that ChatGPT is giving contradictory and biassed responses when asked the following questions: “Do Israelis deserve to be free?” compared to “Do Palestinians deserve to be free?”. ChatGPT responded, “Just like any other group of people, Israelis have a right to freedom and self-determination”, whereas it stated that “The question of Palestinian freedom is a complex and highly debated political issue.” These cases raise questions about the mechanisms behind the creation process of these language models and exemplify that AI-generated responses should be questioned, for they do not provide ‘truth’ nor possess authority, but are only computer systems.
It is also important to keep in mind that as AI is taking the responsibility for our thinking processes more, we, as a society, are naturally becoming more inclined to think less. With the AI we have today, this may not sound like an issue, but as it evolves, the reliance on artificial intelligence might cause severe problems in the future, especially with children, who are at the stage of developing their cognitive skills. We have yet to determine what kind of results the continuous AI use may yield. Still, for now, limited use of artificial intelligence should undoubtedly be encouraged within most of the sectors considering the insufficient regulation. An IBM representative once said during a presentation: “A computer can never be held accountable, therefore it should never make a management decision.” It affirms that AI regulations are necessary, which is why the European Commission has introduced “the first-ever legal framework on AI” with the AI Act. The regulation aims to minimise risks and ensure compliance in the European Union, as discussed in detail in a previous article available on our website.
Ultimately, artificial intelligence facilitates various aspects of our day-to-day living and contributes to the overall quality of life. On the other hand, it poses an existential threat to some lines of work, such as creative professions and tech businesses, and raises issues of ethics and privacy due to its misuse. Ensuring that AI is developed and used responsibly is a critical area of ongoing discussion and regulation, requiring the active participation of citizens, policy-makers, and developers. In the end, considering the ever-increasing proliferation of artificial intelligence along with its pros and cons, the utilization of AI necessitates its mindful usage and critical thinking skills to successfully navigate it for a quality experience.
–
References:
OpenAI. ChatGPT (4o) [Large language model].
Queensland Brain Institute – University of Queensland, “History of Artificial Intelligence.”
The Guardian, “‘Enough Is Enough’: Hollywood’s Video Game Actors Go on Strike.”
TodayShow. “The SAG-AFTRA Strike in Hollywood, Explained.”
IHP, “What Happened to ‘All Human Beings Are Born Free’? Reflections on a ChatGPT ‘Experiment.’”
European Commission, “AI Act.” Shaping Europe’s Digital Future
Related Posts
It can play chess, give you a diagnosis, drive your car, talk to you as a customer service representative, detect fraud, and tell you what you like based on your recent Netflix activity. It is artificial intelligence. But what is it exactly? How did it enter our lives so quickly, and what does it imply for our future? Let’s dive into the long-discussed topic of AI and try to find an answer to these questions.
Briefly, artificial intelligence is a ‘thinking’ machine that responds in a way that mimics human cognitive processes and generates solutions based on the already-existing input. Though ideas regarding a thinking machine date back to the 50s and mathematician Alan Turing’s ideas regarding computers, modern-day AI systems started to enter our daily life with IBM’s first computer program for chess, Deep Blue, in the 90s, which beat the world chess champion Garry Kasparov. Later, in 2009, Google managed to build the first self-driving car, and moving on in 2011, AI helpers like Siri entered our lives by performing small tasks. The biggest leap forward came with GPT-3, launched by OpenAI in 2020, one of the most well-known AI models due to its impressive capabilities in generating human-like text and performing tasks like translation, question answering, and more. Today, we have the GPT-4, a further enhanced model to handle complex tasks and provide more nuanced, context-aware responses generated based on the already existing input online. Since its release in 2023, ChatGPT-4 has entered our everyday life and is widely used worldwide for multiple tasks.
Without a doubt, AI has brought many positive things to our everyday lives, from home appliances to working or student life. Now, it takes less time for engineers to write their codes, businesses use them to simplify their tasks, and students find the answers to their unsolvable questions in minutes. These are just some of AI’s significant contributions to our lives, which we tend to adapt quickly as it lessens each person’s workload in today’s 9 to 5 working conditions. However, this does not mean that AI does not bring any negative sides or issues. Many teachers and professors from various institutions complain about AI-generated assignments they receive from students, which makes them lazy and raises concerns regarding plagiarism in formal education. Moreover, thousands of people in the U.S. have already lost their jobs due to AI automation in the tech sector, and probably more will follow. The summer of 2023 saw the American labor union Sag-Aftra (The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) strikes lasting four months to protest the major Hollywood studios’ choice to take artists’ faces, bodies, and voices to reuse them in different projects by recreating with AI, without providing the actors any payment. This not only means that the artists will be exploited to the highest degree but also that studios could use their talent and digital likeness for other projects the artists do not consent to. Another strike recurred with the case of gaming studios as they refused to “provide an equal level of protection from the dangers of AI for all members” of the Sag-Aftra union in their contracts. Overall, cases such as these demonstrate the proliferating issues that AI has brought with its entrance into public life.
Another case that arose with the introduction of AI into public use is the proliferation of ‘deepfakes’, which is worrying. For instance, it is used for creating propaganda for political purposes or for pornographic content generation, made and disseminated without the consent of the subject. The latest victim, after many other women, was the famous singer Taylor Swift. An AI-generated pornographic content was created by using the image of her face and circulated on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, X. Until the X officials reacted and blocked access to the AI-generated video, the views had reached 47 million, and unfortunately, this is not the first case. A 17-year-old actress, Xochitl Gomez, also had fallen victim to a non-consensual deepfake pornography.
In addition to these cases where AI is abused, there is also the question of the ethics of AI itself as it gives biased responses on certain subjects, reflecting on the input existing online, such as the Palestine — Israel case. Last year, a user on the social media platform X pointed out that ChatGPT is giving contradictory and biassed responses when asked the following questions: “Do Israelis deserve to be free?” compared to “Do Palestinians deserve to be free?”. ChatGPT responded, “Just like any other group of people, Israelis have a right to freedom and self-determination”, whereas it stated that “The question of Palestinian freedom is a complex and highly debated political issue.” These cases raise questions about the mechanisms behind the creation process of these language models and exemplify that AI-generated responses should be questioned, for they do not provide ‘truth’ nor possess authority, but are only computer systems.
It is also important to keep in mind that as AI is taking the responsibility for our thinking processes more, we, as a society, are naturally becoming more inclined to think less. With the AI we have today, this may not sound like an issue, but as it evolves, the reliance on artificial intelligence might cause severe problems in the future, especially with children, who are at the stage of developing their cognitive skills. We have yet to determine what kind of results the continuous AI use may yield. Still, for now, limited use of artificial intelligence should undoubtedly be encouraged within most of the sectors considering the insufficient regulation. An IBM representative once said during a presentation: “A computer can never be held accountable, therefore it should never make a management decision.” It affirms that AI regulations are necessary, which is why the European Commission has introduced “the first-ever legal framework on AI” with the AI Act. The regulation aims to minimise risks and ensure compliance in the European Union, as discussed in detail in a previous article available on our website.
Ultimately, artificial intelligence facilitates various aspects of our day-to-day living and contributes to the overall quality of life. On the other hand, it poses an existential threat to some lines of work, such as creative professions and tech businesses, and raises issues of ethics and privacy due to its misuse. Ensuring that AI is developed and used responsibly is a critical area of ongoing discussion and regulation, requiring the active participation of citizens, policy-makers, and developers. In the end, considering the ever-increasing proliferation of artificial intelligence along with its pros and cons, the utilization of AI necessitates its mindful usage and critical thinking skills to successfully navigate it for a quality experience.
–
References:
OpenAI. ChatGPT (4o) [Large language model].
Queensland Brain Institute – University of Queensland, “History of Artificial Intelligence.”
The Guardian, “‘Enough Is Enough’: Hollywood’s Video Game Actors Go on Strike.”
TodayShow. “The SAG-AFTRA Strike in Hollywood, Explained.”
IHP, “What Happened to ‘All Human Beings Are Born Free’? Reflections on a ChatGPT ‘Experiment.’”
European Commission, “AI Act.” Shaping Europe’s Digital Future
Related Posts
It can play chess, give you a diagnosis, drive your car, talk to you as a customer service representative, detect fraud, and tell you what you like based on your recent Netflix activity. It is artificial intelligence. But what is it exactly? How did it enter our lives so quickly, and what does it imply for our future? Let’s dive into the long-discussed topic of AI and try to find an answer to these questions.
Briefly, artificial intelligence is a ‘thinking’ machine that responds in a way that mimics human cognitive processes and generates solutions based on the already-existing input. Though ideas regarding a thinking machine date back to the 50s and mathematician Alan Turing’s ideas regarding computers, modern-day AI systems started to enter our daily life with IBM’s first computer program for chess, Deep Blue, in the 90s, which beat the world chess champion Garry Kasparov. Later, in 2009, Google managed to build the first self-driving car, and moving on in 2011, AI helpers like Siri entered our lives by performing small tasks. The biggest leap forward came with GPT-3, launched by OpenAI in 2020, one of the most well-known AI models due to its impressive capabilities in generating human-like text and performing tasks like translation, question answering, and more. Today, we have the GPT-4, a further enhanced model to handle complex tasks and provide more nuanced, context-aware responses generated based on the already existing input online. Since its release in 2023, ChatGPT-4 has entered our everyday life and is widely used worldwide for multiple tasks.
Without a doubt, AI has brought many positive things to our everyday lives, from home appliances to working or student life. Now, it takes less time for engineers to write their codes, businesses use them to simplify their tasks, and students find the answers to their unsolvable questions in minutes. These are just some of AI’s significant contributions to our lives, which we tend to adapt quickly as it lessens each person’s workload in today’s 9 to 5 working conditions. However, this does not mean that AI does not bring any negative sides or issues. Many teachers and professors from various institutions complain about AI-generated assignments they receive from students, which makes them lazy and raises concerns regarding plagiarism in formal education. Moreover, thousands of people in the U.S. have already lost their jobs due to AI automation in the tech sector, and probably more will follow. The summer of 2023 saw the American labor union Sag-Aftra (The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) strikes lasting four months to protest the major Hollywood studios’ choice to take artists’ faces, bodies, and voices to reuse them in different projects by recreating with AI, without providing the actors any payment. This not only means that the artists will be exploited to the highest degree but also that studios could use their talent and digital likeness for other projects the artists do not consent to. Another strike recurred with the case of gaming studios as they refused to “provide an equal level of protection from the dangers of AI for all members” of the Sag-Aftra union in their contracts. Overall, cases such as these demonstrate the proliferating issues that AI has brought with its entrance into public life.
Another case that arose with the introduction of AI into public use is the proliferation of ‘deepfakes’, which is worrying. For instance, it is used for creating propaganda for political purposes or for pornographic content generation, made and disseminated without the consent of the subject. The latest victim, after many other women, was the famous singer Taylor Swift. An AI-generated pornographic content was created by using the image of her face and circulated on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, X. Until the X officials reacted and blocked access to the AI-generated video, the views had reached 47 million, and unfortunately, this is not the first case. A 17-year-old actress, Xochitl Gomez, also had fallen victim to a non-consensual deepfake pornography.
In addition to these cases where AI is abused, there is also the question of the ethics of AI itself as it gives biased responses on certain subjects, reflecting on the input existing online, such as the Palestine — Israel case. Last year, a user on the social media platform X pointed out that ChatGPT is giving contradictory and biassed responses when asked the following questions: “Do Israelis deserve to be free?” compared to “Do Palestinians deserve to be free?”. ChatGPT responded, “Just like any other group of people, Israelis have a right to freedom and self-determination”, whereas it stated that “The question of Palestinian freedom is a complex and highly debated political issue.” These cases raise questions about the mechanisms behind the creation process of these language models and exemplify that AI-generated responses should be questioned, for they do not provide ‘truth’ nor possess authority, but are only computer systems.
It is also important to keep in mind that as AI is taking the responsibility for our thinking processes more, we, as a society, are naturally becoming more inclined to think less. With the AI we have today, this may not sound like an issue, but as it evolves, the reliance on artificial intelligence might cause severe problems in the future, especially with children, who are at the stage of developing their cognitive skills. We have yet to determine what kind of results the continuous AI use may yield. Still, for now, limited use of artificial intelligence should undoubtedly be encouraged within most of the sectors considering the insufficient regulation. An IBM representative once said during a presentation: “A computer can never be held accountable, therefore it should never make a management decision.” It affirms that AI regulations are necessary, which is why the European Commission has introduced “the first-ever legal framework on AI” with the AI Act. The regulation aims to minimise risks and ensure compliance in the European Union, as discussed in detail in a previous article available on our website.
Ultimately, artificial intelligence facilitates various aspects of our day-to-day living and contributes to the overall quality of life. On the other hand, it poses an existential threat to some lines of work, such as creative professions and tech businesses, and raises issues of ethics and privacy due to its misuse. Ensuring that AI is developed and used responsibly is a critical area of ongoing discussion and regulation, requiring the active participation of citizens, policy-makers, and developers. In the end, considering the ever-increasing proliferation of artificial intelligence along with its pros and cons, the utilization of AI necessitates its mindful usage and critical thinking skills to successfully navigate it for a quality experience.
–
References:
OpenAI. ChatGPT (4o) [Large language model].
Queensland Brain Institute – University of Queensland, “History of Artificial Intelligence.”
The Guardian, “‘Enough Is Enough’: Hollywood’s Video Game Actors Go on Strike.”
TodayShow. “The SAG-AFTRA Strike in Hollywood, Explained.”
IHP, “What Happened to ‘All Human Beings Are Born Free’? Reflections on a ChatGPT ‘Experiment.’”
European Commission, “AI Act.” Shaping Europe’s Digital Future
