Overturning Pessimistic Thinking

In the dawn of the industrial era, where the once blue sky is covered in bleak gray, the unceasing sound of machinery flows through the air. As a master artisan renowned for your quality craftsmanship in shoe-making, you once held numerous clients. Yet now, in the face of the innovative and progressive assembly line, your customers have been decreasing by the day. Days go by and at some point you realize your service is no longer needed. Your skills are now of a bygone era, made obsolete by the unimpeded technological advancement. And with that realization you kneel down in anguish at the notion of being replaced and discard. 

Yet, as you despair another emotion washes over you – defiance. Unwilling to be swept away by the changing tides of the new era, you will yourself to adapt and find a new way to survive. Motivated and determined, you step out of your home into the crowded streets, gazing into the ominous gray sky. You manage to catch a glimpse of the sun, signifying within even the darkest places there is light. 

 It feels like history is repeating itself, a similar situation has descended upon us, now in the current age of information. Workers are once again worried about being replaced by an even more groundbreaking piece of technology; Artificial Intelligence, or more commonly known as AI.  It isn’t doesn’t come to a surprise when an article by MIT Technology Review, comments “Rather, advanced digital technologies were leading to job losses across a broad swath of the economy, raising the specter once again of technological unemployment” clearly indicating that these technologies are having a major impact on the working sector with many jobs being eliminated due to the nature of the professions being repetitive and predetermined based decision making. Similarly, Forbes extends this argument by saying “Industries that rely heavily on manual labor or routine tasks are particularly vulnerable to AI automation. This imbalance exacerbates the divide between high-skilled and low-skilled workers, contributing to income inequality”. This vulnerability towards AI often transitions to loss of occupation, resulting in bitterness and resentment to those impacted. In such situations, people tend to focus their negativity towards the cause – in this case, AI. Thus, it is expected that workers who suffer from these consequences are the ones that oppose the continuous development of AI. 

But, where there are those that suffer from it, there are those that benefit as well. Those that benefit see the value in AI and don’t oppose its ongoing development. Instead, like any valuable thing,  they protected it from those with malicious intent. Which sparks debates revolving around AI.

 To be more specific, when it comes to the subject of AI, most people readily agree that AI has had a colossal impact on society and humanity as a whole. Where this argument usually ends, however, is on the question of where AI is something to be feared or not. Whereas some are convinced that AI is something to be cautious and fearful about due to its control over many aspects of our lives, I believe that AI is not something to be feared because it can’t replace us, it can be wrong, and it can be countered. 

Wait, fear AI?

It may seem unusual to most the reason this argument uses the word fear, instead of terms like hate or oppose, as they may appear more logical when discussing AI. However, the reason for the use of fear stems from the prevalent negative connotation associated with AI. This negative perception overshadows the potential benefits it can bring to our society and make people more susceptible to negative thoughts, as highlighted in a New York Times article “When we perceive our emotions as bad, we pile more bad feelings onto our existing ones, which makes us feel even worse”. Simply put, when people perceive their emotions as negative, it inevitably causes more negative views to follow, leading to an overall pessimistic outlook. 

 Considering the fact that AI is already causing significant waves in our society, along with the uncertainty surrounding its future development. It is understandable that fear will rise  due to its essentially unknown and potentially dangerous nature. But, it's key to recognize that while AI has the ability to evolve and potentially become superior, it does not necessarily possess  the potential to cause harm. Therefore, the reason why it is being argued that fear should not be something to be beheld towards AI. 

Firstly, we should not hold an attitude of fear towards AI because it doesn’t replace us in the workforce. This is observed in the long term similar to the phenomenon that happened during the industrial era, where there was a drastic shift in the labor market.Miscellaneous jobs that can be accomplished by AI will become less important and relevant, creating an incentive for people from society to redirect their focus to careers which have a high likelihood of not being replaced – high skilled professions. 

Giving an incentive is extremely crucial in motivating people do thing they have set aside, According to an article published in Mass general Brigham, “According to a 2014 study on procrastination and coping, 20-25% of adults worldwide are chronic procrastinators” demonstrating a large percent of the population benefits from the incisive to change. The indirect effect AI has not only better prepares the public for the future, but also increases a person's livelihood in the long run by encouraging them to change their professions and learning skills that are going to be sought after even in the changing labor market. Thus, making a compelling argument of why society shouldn’t fear AI. 

Besides, another reason we shouldn’t fear AI is because it doesn’t always have the right answer. BBC news makes clarifies how AI works by revealing that “These programs learn from vast quantities of data, such as online text and images, to generate new content which feels like it has been made by a human” However, they also highlight how AI fails in certain aspects “sometimes generate inaccurate answers and images, and can reproduce the bias contained in their source material, such as sexism or racism”  in this new developing field things like lack of data, inadequate prompt, or even error in the algorithm is common  

I was not aware of the degree of errors that AI was responsible for until I personally experienced it. 

As an upstanding student with a strong sense of morality, I have made use of the AI’s calculative abilities to complete a number of complex equations that showcased the subject of permutations and combinations. In doing so, I hoped that I would be able to complete the assignment with a perfect grade in a time efficient manner. However, to my surprise, AI was highly inaccurate in its response, answering most of the erroneously. At the end of my little experiment, I was forced to ask for a revaluation on the assignment due to the AI netting me a score of 4/10. And while I was not pleased with the AI’s performance, I was also relieved to know that it had limited capabilities. Thus, providing an irrefutable reason for why AI isn’t to be feared. 

In fact, coming to understand the inherent flaws of AI, It has become clear why Industries that are beginning to integrate AI into the use of some tasks are doing it with caution, as they acknowledge the fact that AI is not made to completely overtake and replace human thinking. In fact, AI is employed to help and enhance the process of some jobs, not take over the individual meaning the position. Which is mostly present in jobs like economist, accounting. 

Furthermore, certain fields' job outlook are mostly unaffected by AI, such as teachers, politicians, and physics. AI plays a minimal role in those types of professions. If you look at the medical field, where they have strict requirements and need for accuracy, an article posted by the Mayo Clinic Connect stresses that,  “Accurate and rapid diagnostic testing has many benefits, says Dr. Algeciras-Schimnich."The faster we reach the right diagnosis for a patient, the faster we get to the right treatment. It not only improves their outcome, but it has been shown that the overall cost of health care is also reduced by providing the right answers faster." This shows how Ai is a great tool, however, due to its inaccuracy it goes back to the first argument in this account of not having the ability of replacing us (in highly skilled professions).

Stepping back for a moment, it is apparent that throughout the entirety of this account, two major aspects that make most people fearful of AI were discussed, but, in the ongoing debate in regards to AI, their luster dims in front of the most debated aspect; AI’s ability to facilitate academic dishonesty. When AI websites like ChatGPT opened for public use, individuals swiftly uncovered its potential uses. One that stood out the most was its ability to generate written responses, a tool quickly exploited by students to perform better academically. After the situation was uncovered by schools, AI became of great concern and fear because of schools' inability to punish those cheating. 

Yet, countermeasures were quickly implemented, the creation of an AI detection website with the sole purpose of identifying AI generated responses. This tool empower Teachers and Professors to identify those using AI. An article from Education Week affirms by saying “The survey of middle and high school teachers by the Center for Democracy and Technology, a nonprofit focused on technology policy and consumer rights, found that 68 percent have used an AI detection tool, up substantially from the previous year. Teachers also reported in the same survey that students are increasingly getting in trouble for using AI to complete assignments.”  This development makes the usage of AI highly unlike in an academic setting due to fear of getting in trouble. Thus, supporting the idea that AI can be countered. 

Nethertheless, there are people that are adamant in the dangers that AI presents not only to the workers but humans' cognition in general. Prof Raffo admits the degree of easiness that stems from the usage of AI to undertake tasks, but the downside is that “The major downside is the loss of critical creativity. AI tools have become so easy, people no longer wish to take the harder road and learn the fundamentals and develop skills.” which suggests that we are losing some of our brain's capability such as critical thinking, memory retainability, and decision making from cognitive inactivity. 

However, this should not be something that should be cause of fear or a reason to blame AI for issues like laziness and decline in cognitive abilities. This claim fails to address the underlying cause. 

It should be understood that laziness is caused by the lack of motivation, according to the article, All About Laziness: What Causes It and What to Do About It, where it declares the principle behind laziness to be “Laziness primarily revolves around behavioral patterns, where a person may consistently avoid tasks even when fully capable of completing them. It is often associated with a lack of motivation or effort in engaging with responsibilities.” While it may be argued that AI provokes this issue by siphoning motivation, The real problem lies not within AI, but the person affected by it. The clear absence of distinct goals and aspirations is an indicator of a weak and obtuse motivation. Thus, it is not reasonable to hold AI, like any other tools, responsible for its actions, as it has no intentions and is only directed by the one wielding it. So, if one becomes lazier and unresponsive because of constant utilization of a tool created to aid humans in time-consuming tasks. 

In summary, the debate surrounding AI is indeed a feisty one, with both plenty of benefits and drawbacks to consider. Despite its short time it has been alive it has caused many changes in our lives.While some might argue that AI is a factor of fear due to its capabilities. In reality, AI poses no threat to society or individuals for it is unable to replace us, its inability for accuracy, and its vulnerability to counters. Therefore, rather than fearing AI, we should use and harness its potential to elevate humanity to greater heights. Like in the assembly line during the Industrial age, with AI technology our capacity for further improvement and advancements is guaranteed. It can bring wealth and prosperity to society and humanity. How can you fear that?