ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND PLANNING FOR THE IMPACT

OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Enrique Caleb Caceres Melendez

OGL 340: Artificial Intelligence: The Human Side

Bill Erwin

04/19/21

Total Word Count: 3048 words

 PART ONE: COURSE PROJECT:

“ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION, AND PLANNING FOR THE IMPACT OF AI”

What Level of Awareness Exists?

Artificial Intelligence, often referred to as A.I., is said to have profound impacts on

our current everyday lives and even more so in the future as it gets more popularized.

Depending on the perspective, these life altering impacts can be both negative and

positive to not only individual persons but also to organizations big and small. Due to

the gravity of this matter, it is important to be informed and alert to what is happening,

understand how Artificial Intelligence is impacting our economy, politics, society, and

psychology. It is equally as important to identify the risks that need to be addressed in

order for the organization and its people to succeed. From what I have gathered, most if

not all people have at least some superficial awareness of Artificial Intelligence or A.I.,

however, most people do not seem to have a clear understanding of what it is.

Furthermore, a great majority of people are unaware of not only how it will impact our

life in the future but how it is impacting our lives today. This observation, which is

supported by readings and other material regarding this subject matter, is based on

interviews I conducted regarding this topic, relevant interactions with fellow colleagues,

and my personal experiences on the subject matter. Responses and outcomes of the

people I interviewed, two college students and my stepfather, will be addressed

throughout the report. Overall as a nation, I think we are greatly unaware of the changes

that are to come due to the advancement of Artificial Intelligence. This is greatly
attributed to the immense lack of education towards the topic on a national level

including those in government. One of the biggest obstacles that our level of awareness

presents is that we will be unprepared for the inevitable, which is many of our jobs

suddenly being taken away from us and given to A.I. instead. The reason for it being

inevitable is because they will likely do what we did ourselves better, faster, and cheaper.

The Economic/Political Impact of AI

Along with the implementation of Artificial Intelligence, comes great economic

impacts as well as great political impacts that need to be addressed. It may be

surprising to learn that A.I affects a person’s political view on a daily basis for most

people. As the DW documentary illuminated, false news on social media is thrown at the

average individual by A.I. algorithms using machine learning every time the user

interacts with the website or app. The algorithms control what we see and what we

don't therefore influencing what we read and what we don’t read on political parties,

events, or candidates. This, of course, creates an immense impact on one's political

views. A great point made by Professor Sinan Aral is that media should be a mirror of

society but A.I. algorithms distort the opinions we form based off our media

consumption. Yet the media is too important to be left to people who are just out to

make money. This isn't the only way Artificial Intelligence has impacted our economy,

however. By far the most prominent economic impact of A.I is the immense amount of

job losses it has generated and the even larger number of job losses it will continue to

generate. As my interviewee Emily pointed out we have already experienced fast food
employees being replaced by virtual kiosks where one can order and customize their

food without any human or employee interaction. My interviewee Colton pointed out

how Tesla is in the process of building these electric semi-trucks that are meant to be

fully self-driving autonomously, and within a few years would make a trucker’s job

obsolete. These were just two of the many job roles that are and will be replaced by A.I,

creating tens of millions of job losses for many hard-working Americans and people

around the globe.

The Sociological Impact of AI

As Kai-Fu Lee emphasized, what's more serious than the loss of jobs is the loss

of meaning. He states, “The work ethic in the Industrial Age has brainwashed us into

thinking that work is the reason we exist, that work defines the meaning of our lives.” So,

when artificial intelligence takes over someone’s job it not only affects them financially

but there is a greater sociological impact created as well. A society where its people feel

they are felt without purpose or meaning is a very miserable and dangerous one.

Andrew Yang further drives this point by writing that number of social problems are

linked to unemployment and underemployment such as “domestic violence, substance

abuse, child abuse, and depression.” Interestingly enough, this has been largely

experienced in recent times with this COVID-19 pandemic which resulted in millions of

people around the world to be unemployed and the social problems Yang mentioned to

go up. The sociological impact of A.I goes far beyond loss of employment, however.

One of the most impactful yet silent ways Artificial Intelligence is impacting our society
is how it is transforming criminal justice by influencing criminal sentencing. Courtrooms

are increasingly using A.I. technology in order to determine sentences and judicial

decisions such as who gets released from prison and how much bail should be (Axios,

2018). There is a big problem with this technology and it’s that it is incredibly biased and

inaccurate, in fact this artificial intelligence was wrong about 80% of the time therefore

only correct about 20% of the time. Additionally, ProPublica recently investigated the

risk assessment algorithms and found out that this A.I technology falsely predicted

black defendants to be future criminals at twice the rate of white defendants.

The Psychological Impact of AI

It is important to reiterate that when artificial intelligence starts replacing us in

the jobs that we do, the sense of our worth deteriorates. This has a monumental

psychological impact regardless of what occupation was just taken over. There is likely

to be a feeling of obsoleteness knowing that your human ability could not achieve what

artificial intelligence can do in a matter of seconds and more precisely or efficiently than

you ever would. This is especially amplified if this is a career of which you have

dedicated your whole adult life to and did not realize how replaceable you really are.

This has happened to people with occupations that many years ago would have been

perceived that a human worker would be needed, such in the field of communications.

As the job fields that are replaced by A.I grow, the more likely that negatively impactful

psychological effects simultaneously increase. Artificial Intelligence has a great impact

in the world we live in regardless of job replacement. For example one of my

interviewees, Gary, mentioned how dependent he has become to technology and A.I to

think on his behalf. He expressed to me how this in return sometimes makes him think

of himself as dumber in comparison to when he was when he was young and only had

to rely on his own brain to solve certain things. This made me realize how lost and dumb

I would probably feel if all the technology and artificial intelligence was taken away from

me for a week or even a day. Throughout the process of writing this paper alone A.I

machine learning has detected and corrected words I couldn’t spell myself and even

simple grammatical errors a middle schooler is taught.

Conclusion

Artificial Intelligence, often referred to as A.I., has been proven to have profound

impacts on our current everyday lives and will do so even more in the future as it

becomes more integrated with our way of life. Artificial Intelligence is already greatly

impacting our economical, political, sociological, and psychological well being. As

previously provided, there are many risks to be considered in order for the organization

and its people to succeed as artificial intelligence becomes more eminent in our culture

and way of living. Overall, as a nation, I think we are greatly unaware of the changes that

are to come due to the advancement of this fast moving technology. One of the biggest

obstacles that our current level of awareness presents is that it makes us unprepared

for the inevitable. The inevitable being that A.I will increasingly take over tens of millions

of hard working jobs from humans, artificial intelligence will be an even greater factor in

how people vote and form their views, it will deteriorate many aspects of our civilization
as we know it, and will likely lead to higher numbers of worsen mental or emotional

states of mind cases across the globe. These are just a few of the countless ways this

technology has and will continue to abruptly reshape aspects of one’s daily life without

them even realizing it. Artificial Intelligence is a very powerful tool with immense

potential to come, so much so that it will likely very well alter the fate of humanity as it

is. It is due to the gravity of this matter that if it is not properly analyzed, assessed, and

addressed then that fate is not one to benefit mankind.

 PART TWO: COURSE PROJECT:

“ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION, AND PLANNING FOR THE IMPACT OF AI”

Addressing the Economic/Political AI Issues

My Organization Plan

Politically, my organization plan is to have organization-wide awareness about

how artificial intelligence can shape one’s perspective, including political ones. This will

hopefully let us be more aware of what we are being fed, regardless of political view.

Additionally, I think our organization could encourage members to not solely get

politically informed from social media outlets. It is important to not guide an individual

towards one political view or stance, but rather encourage them to have one of

themselves without being manipulated by the platforms they trust. Economically, I

suggest we offer to fully pay for any retraining and education needed to those in the

organization whose jobs would be displaced by A.I. yet decide to stay in the company.

This way they have the option to hold employment within the organization while the

organization is still taking advantage of the technology that would improve the company

by making it more efficient. Machine learning researcher and professor Max Tegmark

stated something I found very applicable which is that as A.I.takes away the routine

jobs, we should and we must create jobs of compassion- something A.I cannot replace.
My Personal Plan

Economically, I have decided to take a career path that is not likely to be taken

over by artificial intelligence anytime soon. I look forward to a career path as a Project

Manager, and I acknowledge that human interaction, creativity, and emotional

intelligence are essential to a successful PM. These are attributes that technology or

artificial intelligence are not able to provide. I do expect to be working along with A.I as

it assists me in being the best Project Manager I can be in order to deliver for my clients

and with the help of my team. Politically, I plan to distance myself from all these social

media platforms in order to take the power away from the algorithms determining what I

view or don’t view. This also applies to other platforms such as Youtube, I often times

inform myself of what is going on around the world and within this nation through there.

I will be more careful and aware of the political videos that are suggested to me by the

algorithms and autoplayed. Realizing how valuable this knowledge is, I do intend on

informing this reality to my family and loved ones.

Addressing the Sociological AI Issues

My Organization Plan

We are to include and emphasize to all peoples involved in our organization that

work, as important as it is, is not the reason we exist and that work does not define the

meaning of our lives. In order to be effective in this sociological shift, we cannot just
talk the talk but we must also walk the walk by allowing employees to spend more time

with their families and having a personal life. Our organization has an opportunity to be

a leader in pushing for a society where work does not take precedence over love

towards family and self. Furthermore, as a company we will embrace A.I and technology

by implementing as much enabling technology as we can and avoiding replacing

technology as much as we can, a concept taught by Carl Frey. This will hopefully allow

for a smooth transition to artificial intelligence in the workplace. Although we should

always be cautious about where artificial intelligence can lead us as a society, we

should also use it to our benefit since it can further us in where we stand as humanity.

Not doing so will obstruct progress not only within the organization but society as a

whole.

My Personal Plan

I plan to remind myself that my purpose and my meaning in life is not a result of

the job or profession I practice but instead goes so much more beyond that. Where I

work and what I do for work is only one of many factors that make me who I am. There

is much more to life, and much more to me as an individual. My happiness and worth of

self cannot be directly correlated to any one part of being, including employment.

Another thing I plan on doing to address the sociological issues of A.I is to be more

aware of artificial intelligence. This includes acknowledging all the benefits it has

provided to me and my family in fields such as convenience, safety, education, and

eventually in my profession. I cannot hide from the fact that A.I will continue to be
implemented in my daily life and how it will impact the society I live in. I will continue to

welcome it and allow it to assist me in ways it would either not be possible before or

would have taken significantly more time, energy, and resources to accomplish the

same deed or task.

Addressing the Psychological AI Issues

My Organization Plan

If anyone within the organization feels that they have been psychologically

affected by artificial intelligence in any way then treatment such as physiotherapy will

be provided to them at no cost. These resources will not be limited to those who are

impacted by the potential job displacement due to artificial intelligence but also to those

who are impacted by the implementation of artificial intelligence while in the workplace.

A great advantage that comes from integrating A.I. into the workplace is that it has the

potential to make the workers achieve improved quality results at a faster rate, which

can therefore allow more family or personal time to the employee without

compromising excellence at work. With that being said, if people within the organization

feel like their self worth at work has been diminished by the implementation of A.I which

in return required less from the person, psychological support is provided to them.

Interestingly enough, A.I. advancements and technologies could help address mental

health issues by being able to diagnose and help treat symptoms of mental health. This
further helps understand how or what the body responds to, as well as the solutions for

those issues. An individual's mental state of being is very important to work efficiency

and establishing a healthy work environment so it is always a priority to this

organization.

My Personal Plan

I plan to shift my mentality from thinking that if I allow artificial intelligence to

solve certain problems or even assist me through them then that makes me dumb, lazy,

or less capable of a huma being. Instead, I plan to acknowledge and realize that in

actuality it is really just freeing me from routine tasks which allows me to improve my

overall tasks as well as allowing me to do more things in life. Not only more

opportunities with responsibilities or tasks that I am to do, but also with more

opportunities in things I enjoy such as projects I want to do for myself in my free time.

Knowing that and putting that into perspective makes me realize how much more there

is to life than A.I implementation. I have struggled with my mental health for a very long

time, and it can frequently be quite debilitating, so having more time to focus on myself

and my mental state of mind is something I will always value. Ultimately, I know that

although A.I can replace many of the things that I do, it will never be able to replace me

as a friend, son or brother. I look forward to when the practice of using artificial

intelligence to treat mental illnesses like my own is more broadly used to help people

like myself.
Conclusion

Artificial Intelligence is already here and has impacted our way of life in more

ways than one, in fact it has altered our way of life so much it would be unbelievable and

fictional just fifteen years ago. With that being said, its impact and how it alters

humanity will be even more eminent with time as innumerable uses are discovered and

current ones are further improved. It is up to us as a human species to determine how

we can use it for good, and there certainly are some very good uses. We have already

experienced this amazing technology in plenty of ways such as digital assistants like

Siri and Alexa, being assisted by A.I in education and profession, and it has even made

driving safer. There is one thing for sure and that is that the economical, sociological,

and psychological impacts of artificial intelligence are tremendous. What is not for

certain is how we guide this tremendous technology and if we use it for good. This is

something to be very cautious and meticulous about. The solution is not to avoid A.I at

all costs and pretend it is not there, because the implementation of A.I will only grow

and become more intelligent as it advances. We must learn to embrace it and have it

work for us instead of the other way around. We must use this powerful technology as

our asset to further humanity