“Does a computer chip have an astrology? And when it f@ck up, could it give you an apology?”
Wise words from Styles P. I’ve made it no secret my stance on this current iteration of Artificial Intelligence. It has proven to be an extremely useful tool. Through AI, humankind is able to achieve so many amazing tasks, tasks that are seemingly only limited by one’s own imagination. Not only have I used AI to help me to architect this site, but also Groovist. Yeah, AI for right or wrong, is THEE tool of this era.
But with all the great things that can be done with AI, we can’t ignore the significant costs that it demands, specifically a cost that none of us should be willing to pay. And that is our collective humanity. There has been much talk about safeguarding ourselves by limiting the use and power of this, still tool. Right now, I can’t think of a moment in the history of this world where we as a species were so deeply combatted with the questions of what, how much, and even, who we are willing to sacrifice in order for this one entity to exist among us. Is AI that valuable? And if so, who decides that?
To be clear, Artificial Intelligence dates back to the 1950s. Computational scientists have always been intrigued by automation. Without belaboring the point, “How can we make daily tasks easier and more efficient?” You don’t have to be a scholar or computer geek to understand this concept. You could simply watch a couple episodes of The Jetsons and you can tell that this concept is neither new nor secretive.
A few years ago, a friend of mine asked me on Twitter (yes, it’s still Twitter. It will always be Twitter. They will have to destroy the app first before I call it by its colonized name) what I thought about AI. My response to him was that it all depends on the human using it. With good intent, it can certainly be used to solve so many of today’s problems. It could be used to power a machine that can detect garbage and waste in the ocean and clean it out. Or something far less dramatic, like taking pictures of plants in your backyard and letting you know if they are poisonous or not. Or even still, and more personally, architect and engineer an app for vinyl and cd collectors. There is certainly a good and noble use for it.
Likewise, with bad intent, it can help reveal the worst in us. I would think that it’s extremely naive that artificial intelligence doesn’t not come with biases and exposes the narrow views of the individuals who build and maintain models. That is not necessarily inherently malicious, but it does happen. And if one is not mindful and keenly aware, these biases can manifest in very dangerous ways. I won’t exhaust any time with examples.
And then, there’s what’s referred to as “slop”. You know, the content that shows up on your social media feed, all of the videos and images generated using our likeness stored away in our phone’s photo library. Much has been said regarding the very real costs of following this “fun” trend.
I don’t feel the need to debate with anyone and where they land on this widening spectrum. Nor do I feel the need to evangelize for one position. I maintain a “one eye open” philosophy when it comes to AI. This is my modus operandi regarding most things. I am, and will always be concerned, with human-ness. To me, there is a line that all of us have when it comes to the integration of AI in our lives. For example, I write all my blog posts, emails, and any other formal document on my own. Artificial Intelligence can only duplicate my style. But my style is MY style. And I’ve been so cool for so long, that my cool has to be integrated in everything I do. And this type of cool shows up in my writing. My groove is my secret sauce. And at the same time, I tell Alexa to turn off my lights every night before I go to bed.
I do believe there needs to be regulation. There’s nothing wrong with that. After all, we do drive on a certain side of the road and are required to wear safety belts while doing so. It’s no longer legal to smoke inside restaurants anymore. And we don’t walk around with assault rif…well…, maybe one day. Regulation is important. In order for AI to be fair and equitable for all, it’s gonna need some ground rules that individuals and industry will need to abide by. And it starts with you. What is your line? Explore that and why it’s so. Tomorrow isn’t promised. But that shouldn’t stop us from working towards a tomorrow. And if we’re gonna work for a tomorrow, we might as well work for a better one for all.
-satch