Written By: Isaac Julian, Staff Writer
CAUTION: Artificial intelligence reaches a point where its ethics must be questioned.
It seems that everyone in the world has their attention fixed on artificial intelligence. It is viewed as the future, being adopted into nearly all new technology. At the same time, there seems to be a rather negative connotation towards it. The real question is, should we embrace AI or take action against it?
Despite its recent surge in popularity, the term artificial intelligence isn’t a novel subject. It first made its appearance in the 1950s, known then as machine learning, pioneered by a man named Alan Turing. His research culminated into the widely known Turing Test, an assessment on how well a machine can exhibit behavior that is equal to or indistinguishable from a human. This research saw great potential, and was pursued and funded by numerous universities and companies. The innovations made great progress, including the basis of neural networks, a process of computing similar to the human brain. However, these processes were far from what one would call intelligent. The systems were able to process data and produce basic responses, but for decades the field was held back by the limits of technology. As a result, the field would stay relatively dormant for the remainder of the 19th century.
As the 2010s approached, progress on artificial intelligence began to accelerate once again. Companies like OpenAI were funded with billions of dollars to lead the industry and its research, developing the next breakthrough in machine learning. The biggest breakthrough came when developers began to train machines with mass amounts of data from the internet, making what are called large language models (LLMs for short). ChatGPT is the prime example of this, where a user has the ability to ask complex questions and receive an equally complex response, no matter what the prompt is. Compared to the early versions of chatbots, LLMs have a significant edge against them. Tools like this are able to significantly improve productivity across all facets of life, and have seen lots of application in recent years. Tasks that would once waste hours of time can be completed in an instant, revolutionizing the efficiency of companies.
While billion dollar companies seem eager to push the limits of artificial intelligence, it becomes apparent that the world needs to assess the risks of this new technology. The benefits of AI are met with equal or greater consequences. That same boost in productivity is the cause for numerous people losing their jobs. A company’s best interest is keeping expenses low, so they see no problem in replacing real human workers for computers that operate more quickly for less money. In addition, as artificial intelligence gets more powerful, more social manipulation and misinformation is appearing across the internet. As time passes, it becomes increasingly difficult to discern between man-made and artificially made content.
These issues go beyond large businesses, and extend into our classrooms. In the early years of ChatGPT, many students began to use it in writing their material for assignments in school. This was clearly an issue, since this prevented students from legitimately learning the skills they needed from the class. Beyond cheating, AI is not nearly reliable enough to be used in a learning space. Language models like ChatGPT tend to scrub the internet for their information, and if it can’t be found, they will fabricate the answer. As a result, both teachers and students are hindered by the use of artificial intelligence to learn new content.
It seems that AI is doing more harm than good in its current state, so how should it be dealt with? The good news is that RUSD, as well as other districts nationwide, are already taking the necessary precautions. Schools are being required to cease the use of AI, and continue to crack down on attempts of cheating using it. In its current state, artificial intelligence is simply too unreliable to use when teaching. While still recognizing the great ability this technology grants us, it would be wise to take a step back and reflect on the damage it could potentially cause our society. All in all, our society should proceed with caution when moving forward in this field, to protect against a bleak future that can be seen over the horizon.