AI continues to be one of the most talked-about topics in our day to day lives. I know you may be thinking, “It has barely been a month into my first semester, how many times am I gonna hear yet ANOTHER discussion about this,” but if now is not the time to talk about it, when is? AI is all around us and is more relevant than ever. From social media posts and memes sent by a friend, to commercials and promotions, and to the flyers and signs we see as we walk downtown, AI is everywhere in our lives. It has even become a weekly, if not daily, discussion in the work we do as students, both in and out of the classroom.
The influence and use of AI in every aspect of our daily lives is something to really think about—the way in which it is being put in our faces constantly, whether we like it or not. Regardless of your feelings and opinions towards AI usage, the choice should be OURS in how or when we engage with it, whether we make the conscious effort to use ChatGPT or simply go to look up our favorite book and then get an AI overview. It is the first resource being presented to us, in all forms of media and technological platforms. This becomes a more acute issue in regards to ownership and plagiarism. When most writers are tasked with proper citation, accreditation and research, generated works currently leave a lot of room for doubt and overlooked influence that can do a disservice to the original sources of the work.
The way AI is being normalized and quickly pushed into our society needs to be acknowledged, especially with it being directed towards teens and young adults. Opening your phone or laptop, you’re met with a number of prompts for various AI search engines, assistants or other optimisations, and these resources often march ahead without your explicit permission. Opening Instagram immediately provides a chatbot. This constant feed and algorithm numbs our ability to make decisions for ourselves by constantly “guiding” us to what we’re being told we need. As we grow as individuals and branch out into the real world, it is important for us to think about our impact in our community, society and environment and how we want to present ourselves to the world.
Generating an obviously fictionalized character is one thing but altering the likeness of a REAL person is another, especially without clear or explicit consent. Using AI to make not only the environment but the people in it more appealing for a targeted audience and demographic does not represent the reality we live in. Editing or altering reality for aesthetics already raises questions on ethics and intentions, but presenting these generated realities as true begins to tread more moral lines. “Yeah, you can do Y, but for what reason and with what intention?” is the question we should be asking ourselves.
We should ask ourselves this question not only with AI, but also with “efficiency” boosting tools. Thinking about the bigger picture as opposed to the most efficient, we can continue to be aware of what’s going on in the world and make consciously informed decisions for ourselves. Keeping a grasp on our reality, as opposed to growing numb to these altered versions, and automated tools. I am not saying that AI is THE problem or that it is hindering world peace. I am asking us to take a look at our roles in how it is being used and why.
Freshman Kalin Almanzar is a Staff Writer. Their email is kalmanza@fandm.edu