A few days ago, I saw a tweet about wishing AI (artificial intelligence) could complete useful tasks like finding the lowest prices or predicting which groceries need to be restocked in the fridge instead of arguably less useful things like generating funny photos. While this tweet was probably written for comedic purposes, I think there is a layer of truth there; it certainly got me thinking.
Did you know that 23% of workers in the United States have jobs that expose them to AI? While this statistic comes from research done in 2022, I would think that this number will only go up.
I don’t necessarily think this is a bad thing though. AI is the future. Much like society adapted to computers, never mind the fact that many of us carry a miniature computer in our pockets every day, we will all adjust to AI as well. As humans continue to evolve, don’t we want to create technology that makes life easier?
On the other hand, I cannot get that tweet out of my head. What is the point of developing AI if it isn’t going to make life easier? Personally, I would love it if AI could tell me which grocery stores in town have the least amount of people so I could grocery shop in peace, but maybe that’s just me.
Most discussions surrounding AI are about jobs that will be automated and will no longer require human workers, and that is definitely a discussion worth having. The truth is, we probably will lose jobs to AI, but isn’t that the point? Is it possible that it might be a good thing for computers to do various jobs, as long as the job allows?
My concerns are that AI might replace jobs that humans enjoy doing and that eventually, there will not be enough jobs for everyone.
With the development of ChatGPT, an AI company that allows users to enter a prompt into the software and then are provided with a written answer, human writers have some competition.
Ben and Erin the Intern discussed AI on Outside The Box today, so if you are interested in our conversation, start listening at minute 50.
[ Spreaker: Outside the Box ] [ Pew Research ] [ Open AI ]
