Blog Post #10 The Age of A.I.

 Artificial Intelligence Today

In this modern age, Artificial Intelligence is not even a question. It is simply a given. We are surrounded by it every time we walk out of our front door, and even when we are inside of our homes. "Hey Alexa, what is the weather like today?" We don't realize that every time we go to ask these devices a question, a conversation is being struck up with A.I. 

The way that I think of Artificial Intelligence is simply a robot trying to learn human thoughts and actions. It is undeniable that A.I. has progresses greatly in this world and has a lot of positive aspects such as data analysis for informed decisions and reduction in human error. The video focused mainly on the negatives of A.I. so I decided it was best to dive into some research about the positive impacts of this technology. One story that stood out to me is that A.I. has been used to monitor the health of coral reefs. A.I. is being used with underwater cameras to detect the health of the reefs and it then sends data to the cloud where scientists can use it to determine the reefs ongoing health. A.I. can be used to complete difficult tasks such as staying underwater for long periods of time to collect data, which is a trying task for humans. 

While A.I. is taking leaps and bounds in our industries, we have to pay attention to the negative side effects of this technology as well. Can A.I. complete human tasks quick and efficiently, yes, but what does this mean? There is no need for human labor. Artificial Intelligence is a silent job killer. Many business owners believe that automation is a great concept because products can be produced at high speed and they don't have to pay robots. However, replacing human workers with robots completely destroys the livelihood of those employees who are fired because they are told a robot can do their job better than them. 

A.I. lacks human qualities such as creativity and empathy, thus meaning it has no ability to understand emotions or produce original ideas. The beauty of human work is that we can feel this amazing range of emotions and we put our heart and soul into projects that we are passionate about. Robots do not have this ability which means that they have no way to care about the work they are programmed to do. Human jobs are meant for humans. Job loss leads to unemployment which not only affects that person, but their family
and the economy.   

Job loss and unemployment is not the only scary concept of Artificial Intelligence. During the video, one of the points that stood out to me the most was one when of the men said that robots don't pay taxes. This got me thinking. As much as we all dislike taxes, how do our school systems get paid for? How do our towns stay clean and safe? Without taxes there will be a loss of fireman, police, etc. These jobs are necessary for keeping our homes safe and protected. A.I. could put that in jeopardy because job loss leads to unemployment which then leads to financial difficulties, resulting in a town or city that is insufficiently funded and employed.

In our ever-changing world, technology such as Artificial Intelligence is simply just there. We accept that it is a part of our lives and we move on. It is important to pay attention to subjects such as this one because sometimes what is truly happening slips right under our nose. There are two sides to every argument. It is just a matter of if you want to understand and recognize both.