ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE IMPACT

OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Drew Lassiter
OGL 340: Artificial Intelligence: The Human Side
Bill Erwin
2/7/2024

Total Word Count: 1642 words

 PAPER 1
“ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE IMPACT
OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE”

What Level of Awareness Exists?

Artificial intelligence seems to be everywhere. News stories, technology, reports, and

daily tasks all reflect AI’s growing integration into our life. Although we may not completely

understand the specifics of AI, we have all heard of it at least once. Most of us do not realize the

dramatic impact it already has on our life. Social media companies use AI to develop algorithms

and programs to curate your online experience in the “for you” pages and the suggested posts on

Facebook. Despite its prevalence, we do not really seem to know much about it.

Most of my classmates and in my interviews, the general opinion is that AI is something

happening in the future, and we do not have to worry about it quite yet. Self-driving cars and

manufacturing automation are only common in large cities and industries. Most think it will be a

while before it affects the “normal people.” We do not have a robot butler driving us to work

every day, we do not get our morning coffee from a mechanical barista, and we do not live in

virtual reality. These are characteristics of what we think AI will be, however, AI integrates more

subtly at first.

I think we must see AI for what it is today. Putting off acknowledging its current effect

will set us behind economically, sociologically, and psychologically. It is already here, and the

general populace is not prepared. We must wake up and see both the opportunities and dangers

of the AI material we have right now. It is not a problem for tomorrow. It is a problem for this

week, this month, this year. The further we push off accepting and regulating AI, the more issues

will arise.
The Economic/Political Impact of AI

Recently, my brother pointed out how AI may critically influence the course of modern

warfare and military operations. Already we have incredibly precise programs that can detect and

track targets from anywhere in the world. AI could simply coordinate a missile to lock on that

target and you can effectively eliminate anyone anywhere. I am not particularly knowledgeable

in what technology the military already possesses, but I do know that any advances in AI will

immediately be put to use by military regimes across the globe. It has been the story for

millennia that the top technological advances are instantly weaponized by political leaders. As

AI develops, and before it goes too far, we must coordinate appropriate use for AI in warfare.

Historically, the world has recognized the power of modern technology in warfare like the 1925

Geneva Protocol which effectively banned the use of chemical weapons. I think AI will face a

similar trial.

As a result of AI’s power to find, understand, and utilize data, world leaders will face a

new political and economic arena. We do not yet know how to negotiate trade with an algorithm

that does not make mistakes. Perfect logic, perfect data, and perfect prediction has never

happened in the entirety of human history. The only way to match it is to fight fire with fire. AI

once again, becomes weaponized, but not in missile tracking systems, but in manufacturing,

export, and import systems. AI may begin regulating and overseeing trade tariffs and the price of

goods in a country. The stronger your AI algorithm, the more likely your country will receive the

“bigger piece of the pie.” Imagine if we had a “super AI” that correctly predicted, planned, and

controlled the economic crises caused by COVID-19. So much could have been avoided and so

many jobs could have been saved.

The Sociological Impact of AI

 Art and Education are two sociological areas where AI could cause drastic effects. Art is

a constantly growing world and, for millennia, it has reflected the current values and

understandings of the culture from which it comes. It is the inner yearnings of the people who

create. They connect their passions, emotions, and humanity into literature, paintings, music, and

architecture. As AI has grown over the past several years, we have seen the advent of AI art and

computer-generated images. As this technology has grown, it has done a couple of things to the

world of art. First, it has broken down the skill barrier for artists. They no longer have to spend

years or decades perfecting their craft, they can allow a computer to bring an idea onto a page

through a simple set of filters established by the artist. The artist’s job is now to spend less time

working and to spend more time deciding what feels “right” for a piece. Second, and more

concerning, AI creates unrealistic expectations for “beauty.” The image generation process

builds a face or concept that is so perfect and so completely unattainable. Thus, we lose the

imperfection and the humanity in art. We lose what makes it a reflection of ourselves.

Education may be one of the most concerning areas AI impacts. We are often concerned

about its impact on the job market and the global economy, but the thing we know about those

areas is that new opportunities will open themselves up. If automation takes jobs in

manufacturing, new jobs as machine technicians open up. If we no longer need cashiers, we may

need more social workers. In education, the risk suddenly changes because it directly affects our

children and the next generation. Although the current state of education in the US is a topic for

another day, parents and leaders must be aware of what children are consuming. Just like a good

parent will monitor how much sugar, screen time, and friends their child has, we must carefully

analyze the effects AI has on a child’s development. If AI makes learning too easy, then the child

may not learn to work hard. If AI limits the social interaction a child has with teachers or other
students, the child may be unsocialized and become a useless member of society. I have seen the

positive impacts of AI on children with special needs so there’s a space for AI in education, but

it is an extremely delicate balance that needs decades of research. That is time we do not have.

We may not know until it is too late whether AI has too much power in the world of education.

The Psychological Impact of AI

Mental illness is on the rise and continues to reach staggering statistics. This rise comes

alongside technological advances that we claim “help us” but it seems to be the opposite. Social

media, phone addiction, and job loss are all catalyzed by technology. I do not think technology

caused these issues, per se, but there’s evidence that it has become a catalyst and fuel for issues

kept dormant in previous generations. Instant access to information has made our minds lazy and

our thoughts sluggish. We do not think anymore because we can take the easy route and let

someone else on the internet do the thinking for us. We drink the information fed to us without

taking any time to digest it. AI could effectively transform being spoon fed into a direct feeding

tube. Information will be curated just for us. We will no longer have to process or think through

different perspectives. We just exist and accept what the algorithm determines as relevant

information.

As this AI grows, we do not know how it will affect our mental wellbeing. I compare it to

the advent of “moving pictures” changing how we approached entertainment. At the start, film

was a miracle. It suddenly made things feel alive. It made the abstract into something concrete.

We no longer had to imagine stories moving in our heads, the movie projector told us what to

think. AI does the same thing but, in all areas, not just entertainment. We will not just imagine

the words and images on social media, suddenly, it will be alive. Imagine an algorithm that scans

and assesses your profile, history, and tendencies then creates a curated, personal attack. It stabs
you right where it hurts the most and then twists the knife. The psychological effect of this

personalized attack could cause more harm than anything we have ever seen in our lifetime. The

darkest thoughts and deepest fears suddenly come to life.

Conclusion

AI possesses tremendous power in our everyday life. It has the capacity to be used for

good, for creativity, for solving worldwide problems. But on the other hand, it may affect our

psyche, our children, and our international economy. At this stage of development, we are only

starting to scratch the surface of what AI can do. We do not know its limits or boundaries. We do

not know where to draw the line and say “no.” It is a raw resource right now, unrefined, and

coarse. If we seek to understand its limits, we have to stretch our imaginations but not at the cost

of our ethics. It is like we are experimenting with alien technology and hoping it can be used for

the benefit of humankind. Since we do not know the scope of its influence yet, we may want to

make a conscious decision to determine protocols, guidelines, and limitations of how AI can or

should be used. It will take a massive amount of time and effort and tremendous cooperation

between technological giants of business, but it is possible. AI already affects us in our everyday

lives. Now, we get to choose whether that effect continues or whether we choose to limit and

guide it for the benefit of our children and our children’s children.