Arizona State University is one of the universities most recognized for its innovation and its

development of online learning. While Dr. Pryzdia does teach some classes in person, he
predominantly teaches online. Bill Erwin only teaches online. While we both recognize some of
the benefits of teaching in person, we both also have grown to appreciate the opportunities for
learning created by online education. We have online classes that welcome students from around
the world, students who communicate in class with one another as well as their instructors, who
have access to amazing amounts of information at their fingertips and can adapt the timing of
their study to fit their own life schedules. Consider also that when COVID-19 hit, our work
schedule and the students in our classes did not miss a beat. Our teaching and their learning has
continued virtually uninterrupted. So, many positives are emerging through AI.

Positives of AI

• Consider the power placed in your fingertips by your cell phone

• Robotics will replace much of the drudgery and physically taxing aspects of work
• AI, moving with lightning speed, examines problems and presents innovative solutions
• AI can interpret certain medical issues with greater speed and accuracy and medical
specialists
• AI can then perform certain surgeries with greater precision and omit many aspects of
potential human error
• Our reliance on natural resources is reduced
• The cost of products and services are commonly reduced making them more available to
a wider group of consumers
• AI has connected human beings from one part of the world to other parts of the world
creating the potential for greater understanding and better communication
• Vast amounts of wealth, beyond our current imaginations, will be created by AI and open
possibilities for the betterment and well-being of our human population, both nationally
as well as globally

In this course time will be taken to develop the potential negatives of AI in more detail than the
positive ones. The Negatives of AI are summarized here but will be expanded in greater detail as
we develop this course.

Negatives of AI

• Millions have already lost their jobs and even more millions will lose theirs as a result of
cost-savings provided by AI
• Among the last 5 million jobs lost, 1 million were the result of globalization while 4
million resulted from advances in technology
• The pace of change emerging through AI is so much faster than previous technological
changes that adapting to the loss of jobs will be more challenging
• As a result of the pace of change, new jobs, while they will be created, will not be able to
replace those lost in a timely manner
• Mostly blue collar but also many white-collar jobs will be replaced or replaceable
between 2020 and 2035 ( up to 40% - 45% or more of current jobs)
 • The groups hardest hit have the fewest educational and economic resources to respond
and recover; the rural poor will have the most difficulty either finding new work or
training for a new job
• New jobs will be created but how many and how they will replace old jobs is uncertain
• The decline of trust in our institutions, which we already see, will grow worse and can
result in desperate measures and irrational behaviors including violence
• If AI changes go unaddressed, there will be more depression, suicide, drug and alcohol
addiction which are already at record levels.
• Crime will increase as people become more desperate to provide for their families
• Populism, as a response of frustration to a declining environment of opportunity, will
continue to increase and can result in an atmosphere of conspiracy theories, identifying
the wrong causes which then result in implementing the wrong solutions
• The potential for armed conflict increases the potential for civil war and/or an attack on
those with the expanding wealth in the top 1% of the population

The above bullet points present a high-level picture of what is happening. It should be clear why
when confronting AI today, proceeding with a sense of urgency is important. Perhaps you are
also more aware of the danger of proceeding into the future without well informed leaders who
need to be addressing each of these issues today.