Nothing is constant but change. Technology is evolving rapidly, making our life easier. Nevertheless, every technology has a cost and affects negatively as well. One such technology of the current time is the rise of Artificial Intelligence, which has brought a revolutionary change in every sphere of life, such as sports, medicine, academics, and the military. AI can perform arduous and time-consuming tasks in no time with high efficiency. It has brought a new tech revolution; many experts say AI revolution. However, this time, the threats that come with the technology are even bigger and disastrous.
Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, known as the godfather of AI, resigned from Google to spread awareness against the dangers of AI. In an interview, he said he regrets making major contributions to the development of Artificial intelligence. Many other prominent names, such as Sam Altman, CEO of Open AI, in a US Senate Committee hearing, mentioned the dangers of AI and called for AI regulations. Elon Musk thinks AI could be far more dangerous than nukes.
Artificial Intelligence is changing the dynamics of politics, economies, academics, and the military domain. The AI tools often result in spreading misinformation on social media, causing political distrust. Recently, an image showing a bomb explosion at the Pentagon circulated on social media, causing panic in the public. However, later, it came to know it was an AI-generated image. Deep fakes are another concern because they could mislead the masses and even result in religious unrest, as deliberately spreading fake information using AI could charge masses against each other without verifying the source, especially in India and Pakistan. Character assassinations of politicians and their families could be easily done using AI tools available on the internet, which hinders the political system. Till now, some tools can detect AI-generated images and deep fakes, but with time, the advancement of AI will make the detection more difficult.
In terms of the economy, the positive thing is that by using AI, productivity could be increased. According to a report by Goldman Sachs, generative AI is expected to increase the annual global GDP by 7% over ten years. It could predict financial crises, thus helping to make economic decisions accordingly. But with the advancement of AI, millions of human jobs could be replaced. World Economic Forum estimated that 85 million jobs will be lost between 2020-2025, but at the same time, 97 million new jobs will be added by 2025. However, these new jobs will require necessary skills and technical knowledge, which is another challenge. IBM recently announced that they have paused hiring for jobs that AI could do. AI is not a job killer but a job category killer. Furthermore, AI threatens creative jobs such as Graphics designing, which takes a lot of creativity and effort. However, with AI tools, complex graphic works could be done in seconds by just giving a simple command.
The rise of Open AI’s Chat GPT, a text generation and analysis tool, and Google’s Bard has made many time consuming writing-related tasks such as writing essays, blogs, and professional emails easy. Such work can be done in a matter of seconds. Chat GPT is like a brain on demand. However, AI content in academia generated using tools like Chat GPT and Bard is a threat to academic integrity. Students use these tools to complete assignments and other research works, killing creativity and thinking ability. Many researchers use these tools for their research work. The question arises about the originality of the thought.
The security domain is no exception from the advancement of Artificial Intelligence. However, integrating AI in the military sphere and warfare gives an edge regarding military capabilities such as surveillance and data gathering using AI-powered drones. AI could be used to make strategies and deadly weapons. Nevertheless, giving life and death decisions to machines raises ethical and legal questions. There are concerns about human-machine relationships in the military. Misinformation and cyber warfare could result in a shift in the balance of disadvantages over advantages.
Another harmful implication of AI in our lives is the various scams on the internet, such as voice-based scams. According to research by McAfee, a computer security company, there are various free AI tools available on the internet that make clone audio, which requires only three seconds of audio. Astonishingly, the cloned voice will match up to 85% of the original voice. The scammers use such tools and may use them to extract money and other information.
There are various other consequences as well, such as the possibility of biological warfare in the future. The trauma of COVID-19 is still fresh in our minds. The biological virus created using Artificial Intelligence could be used against a specific population to wipe them out. However, it would be an exaggeration to say with certainty that such things will happen, but the chances are there.
Technology is evolving and will keep on modernizing. However, we must keep pace with the flow of technology by using it smartly. It would be unwise to turn away from AI, foreseeing its harmful implications, but certain guidelines and regulations are needed to use such technologies safely. Stanford University’s 2023 AI Index mentioned that around 37 bills have been passed into law globally regarding AI, but these bills regulate limited aspects of AI. A more comprehensive framework and forward-looking regulations are needed. Countries must work in collaboration for a global framework and comprehensive regulations.
Moreover, most importantly, awareness is needed about Artificial intelligence. It is the moral obligation of all those who understand AI to spread awareness about artificial intelligence. With verifying, crucial information must be shared. Richard Baldwin, an economist and professor at World Economic Forum, said AI will not take your job, but a person knowing AI will. Thus, we all need to equip ourselves with basic AI knowledge to get the advantages of AI. Otherwise, the risk of being replaced is much higher.
