Pankita Tibrewala

A15883722

COGS 10

December 11, 2020

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: FRIEND OR FOE?

What is AI?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the intelligence exhibited by a machine. It is one of the

greatest technological advances in recent history. It “is wide-ranging branch of computer science

concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically require

human intelligence” (What is Artificial Intelligence, n.d.) AI is developed by humans to mimic

humans.

Past, present and future of AI

While mentions of robots can be found in ancient Greek Myths, AI as we know it has

been around for less than a century. In the 40s, people started researching in the process of

thinking. Next came Tuning test in 1950 which determines the intelligence of a machine. Since

then, this test has been revised to modern standards. The field of AI was fist devised in late

1950s in a conference at Dartmouth University. (What is Artificial Intelligence, n.d.) In the

following year people were making progress with unforeseen setbacks as expected. Investment

and interest in AI grew in early 21st century when machine learning was successfully applied to

many problems in the industry due to new methods, the use of powerful hardware, and the

collection of vast data sets.

 AI has become the trendiest topic in technology. People and companies are investing time

and money in this field. We have had some great inventions like voice assistants and robot

vacuum, yet we have barely starched the surface of AI’s potential. The future of AI is bright and

exciting. It can be applied to hundreds of applications in every domain. “The final goal of

artificial intelligence (AI)—that a machine can have a type of general intelligence similar to a

human's—is one of the most ambitious ever proposed by science.” (López de Mántaras, 2018).

The final goal of AI scares the general public. It might be because of all the movies and

books with the plot of how robots wreaking havoc on earth. People have always feared the

unknow and the capabilities of AI is a very big unknown but that is the case with most

technologies. We have to remember AI is built to help humans and not rule them. Although AI’s

intelligence is increasing, it can never exceed human intelligence.

Cognition and AI

Cognition is at the core of Artificial Intelligence. AI is trying to mimic human intellect

and to do that human cognition is studied in great depth and ‘taught’ to machines. Data is used to

power AI to make cognitive models. Similarly, interacting with technology affects our cognition.

AI is changing our cognition slowly like increasing dependance on our phones, voice assistants

to give us information about anything and everything. It is also altering which things invoke

which emotions from us. While AI has the ability to impair our brain development, it also has the

ability to stimulate our brains. It has the ability “to further develop abstract thinking imagination

and intuition. AI will push us to access the most complex parts of our minds.” (Sànchez, 2018).

Like every other technology out there, AI has its pros and cons. We have to make sure the

benefits outweigh the threats.

Advantages and Disadvantages of AI

AI was built to improve human life and do tedious tasks for them. Machines, unlike

humans, do not require any breaks and can work quicky to generate the desired end goal. These

machines can also help in making rational decisions without human emotions or personal bias

getting in the way. It is very helpful to people with disabilities. For example, self-driving cars

help many people visual or hearing impairments in becoming independent to drive.

Humans are prone to make mistakes and therefore, companies have to leave room and

account for this error. With automation and AI, the risk of errors is eliminated making the

machine not only efficient but also accurate. Take space exploration as an example. Human

minds with the help of AI have made many new discoveries about this universe. AI powered

machines can be sent to space and these machines will be more successful at gathering data and

problem solving than any human in unknown atmosphere. “Metal bodies have more resistant and

a great ability to endure the space and hostile atmosphere. They are created and used in such a

way that they cannot be modified or get disfigured or breakdown in a hostile environment.”

(“Pros and Cons of Artificial Intelligence - A Threat or a Blessing?”, 2019).

Health care is one of the best examples of AI helping humanity. Compared to human

medical specialists, AI systems can produce an accurate diagnosis in record time. It can easily

identity the problem and suggest medication with least amount of side effects. “For more obvious

day-to-day health issues, AI can be paired with a smart phone to track your health in real

time. Sensors could pick up on your body’s current state of health, and your phone could be

prompted to call 911 before you even know you’re having a heart attack.” (Lant, 2017). This

technology will be a game changer with its ability to save so many lives.
 Artificial Intelligence is very controversial topic in the job sector. The is an overwhelming

amount of people who fear AI because they think their job will be stolen by robots. Reality is that

automation will take over many jobs. Look at the case of call centers. Few years ago, there were

hundreds of people working for customer service and in call centers but most of these responsibilities

are now handled by androids. “The fact is the technology is in place that 80% of any of these jobs

can be done by machines that are smart enough” (Schmelzer, 2019). That being said, this field of

technology is creating more new jobs than its eliminating. Change is a part of life and our job

sector will evolve with this new age.

Artificial intelligence is worsening our digital dependence. We are distracted by AI

powered gadgets we have at our disposal. Let’s take smartphones for example. From voice

assistant to camera, every feature in a smartphone is powered by AI. While there are many

benefits to smartphones, improving our cognition is not one of them. There is evidence

suggesting that the mere presence of a smartphone shifts our attention. (Wang & Tchernev, 2012,

as cited in Wilmer et al, 2017, p. 5). People are easily distracted by a notification they received,

and their curiosity makes them check their phone instantaneously. Smartphones are not very

useful to our cognition. In fact, it negatively affects our cognitive capabilities. People do not

have to remember much as they can get any information in a few seconds with smartphones.

Algorithms and data are the building blocks of any AI system. We strive to achieve

automation to reduce human bias but the algorithm behind these automated systems are written

by humans making these algorithms biased. Algorithmic biases can lead to exclusion and unfair

situations. Joy Buolamwini shared her experience with algorithmic bias in her TED Talk, “How

I’m fighting bias in algorithms”. She detailed how generic facial recognition softwares would not

recognize her face because she was black. The problem was that the training sets for the software
were not diverse enough (Buolamwini, 2016). Algorithmic biases can lead to discriminatory

practices. For example: a judge is using machine generated risk scores to determine how long an

individual goes to jail. The machine would have used to past data to generate the score.

However, the data is biased as racial minorities were unjustly punished. This would mean the AI

system will also be unfair to a person because of their race. This shows that white supremacy still

exists just in a different form.

My stance on AI

Artificial Intelligence is the greatest technological advances in recent years according to

me. I know about all the threat AI possess, but I feel like the good overshadows the bad. Fist, AI

is great tool in our everyday life. GPS powered by AI has made travelling so much easier. One

can get to a location in a timely manner. Second, AI systems are good at making racial decisions

without human emotions or personal bias. These decisions will not only improve our lives but

also our economy. “According to McKinsey Global Institute’s research, AI could deliver an

additional output of $13 trillion to the world economy by 2030, which would boost global GDP

by nearly 1.2 percent a year.” (Saratchandran, 2019). Third, AI has proved itself to be very

useful in many different sectors especially health care. Automated machines have been helpful in

diagnosis and surgeries. For example: “Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

(MIT) used deep learning technology in an experiment to predict if a person has a mental illness.

A chatbot asks a person various questions to give an 85% accurate prediction” (Kreutz, 2018).

There are make threats with AI, biggest being algorithm bias. However, the good news is that AI

can be taught what we want. To reduce bias in algorithms, various steps like having diverse

teams in the coding process and using diverse data. We have an opportunity to teach AI to be

inclusive. The future of AI is bright, and I can’t wait to see all the new advances in this field.
 References

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serious-competition-in-china

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Schmelzer, R. (2019, November 01). Should We Be Afraid of AI?

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What is Artificial Intelligence? How Does AI Work?: Built In. (n.d.).

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