Is AI Helpful Or Harmful to Society?
AI has been subject to many debates in today’s society. It’s evolving at an unbelievably fast rate, unlike anything we have ever seen before. But the more it’s advancing, the more people are getting worried it might become a little too smart and end up taking jobs away, gaining sentience and taking over the world, or make us dumber. But on the other hand, some believe AI is benefiting us greatly. It can make art without a human ever having to lift up a pencil, AI can identify patterns like natural disasters, help diagnose and treat diseases, address climate change, and can give a better understanding of knowledge that is personalized, so you can understand what they are saying.
When asked about how AI helps and hurts society, Freshman Layla Rattigan said:
R: In what way do you think AI is beneficial to society?
L: I think AI is beneficial to society by helping correct writings and work when help isn’t provided. And I also think AI is beneficial for those who use it for ideas and art reasons.
R: Now are there any ways you think AI hurts society that you can think of off the top of your head?
L: Yes, I do. I think AI is hurtful to society because it’s already starting to take away jobs from people who have maybe been doing that their whole life. I also feel like students aren’t trying as hard in school due to AI. Most students use AI to cheat on homework or even tests.
R: Good answer. Do you personally believe that the positives of AI outweigh the negatives or do you think it’s the other way around?
L: No, I don’t believe that the positives of AI outweigh the negatives. I believe that the harmful effects of AI have a bigger impact on society then the positives.
R: Ok, final question. Have you ever used AI to help you get something done quicker? Be honest.
L: No, I only use AI to double check my answers.
R: Got it. Thanks for your time.
Another student, Pauline Carroll was asked the same questions and said this:
R: What are some ways that you think AI benefits society?
P: I think that AI helps because it is very useful for school students to study, also for working people to learn and understand their job more and compete tasks efficiently.
R: Now what are some ways that you think AI hurts society? I noticed with you saying students can study efficiently, don’t you think they can also use AI to cheat on tests and homework, which might lead to people becoming essentially dumber?
P: Yes, some people do use AI for bad reasons like cheating in school. I also think it hurts society by creating fake internet posts and accounts to try and get people’s information. It also hurts society by giving false information to kids who may be trying to study, affecting their knowledge.
R: Would you say that the positives outweigh the negatives of AI evolving, or do you think it’s more harmful than it is helpful?
P: I believe it is more harmful than helpful to society.
R: Okay, one more question. Are you worried about your future being negatively impacted by AI, or do you think your future goals and dreams won’t be affected by it?
P: I believe that my dreams for the future will be affected by AI because working in the law community takes a lot of technical skill/technology. And with AI the internet changes a lot and can change the way we see or believe the world.
R: That and AI can make fake videos of people doing crimes they never actually committed.
P: Correct.
R: Got it, Thanks for your time.
A third student, Mikayla Arceneaux, was also asked questions regarding whether AI is helpful or harmful to society. This is what she responded with:
R: What are some things that you think AI does that are beneficial to society?
M: AI could be used as a tool to assist with things such as writing, although more so assisting as in advice and tips from all around, not necessarily doing the writing.
R: Good answer. Now are there any things that AI does that you think can negatively impact, or in other words, hurt society?
M: It can take over jobs leaving people jobless, it steals from real humans work with no cited resource or in other word theft of real human’s hard work, it can leave people relying on it too heavily or even addicted to its services as well.
R:I’m assuming by that response that you think it has much more of a negative impact on society than it does a positive impact, correct?
M: Correct.
R: Do you worry about how your future will be affected by AI’s fast growth and evolution, and if so, why?
M: I do. If AI keeps growing, it could eventually take over any future careers I might want to pursue that are more technology based, or that in the future the world may be harmed due to AI essentially taking over technology.
R: That’s understandable. Final question, have you ever used AI to help you with something? Be honest.
M: Yes, I have, mostly around early 2024 and late 2023.
R: May I ask what you used it for?
M: Advancing my writing skills when other places weren’t providing the words I needed to describe things. Essentially just getting correct words that actually described what I wanted to convey.
R: Excellent. Thanks for your time.
Now that we have seen what the people think, let’s look at some statistics to see how AI is currently, and potentially going to impact the world. According to National University, 30% of all U.S. jobs could be automated by 2030, and a whopping 60% will be seeing significant task-level changes due to AI being integrated. This shift clearly shows that AI is going to be permanently affecting the job force pretty soon, and people need to be ready for things changing. They also state that since 2000, 1.7 million U.S. manufacturing jobs have been lost due to automation. They also mention that a shocking 13.7% of U.S. workers have reported losing their job to a robot or AI-driven automation. that’s tens of hundreds of millions of people.
But the question still remains. Is AI helpful or harmful for society? I would say the answer to that is yes, it’s more harmful to us then it is helpful, regarding what society thinks and the statistics of how AI is going to affect us.
