ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE IMPACT

OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Adam Moore
OGL 340: Artificial Intelligence: The Human Side
Bill Erwin
2/6/2022

Total Word Count: 1535 words

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

What Level of Awareness Exists?

The summation of my own personal opinions, the opinions of my interviewees and fellow

classmates, and the interview statistics released to the class lead me to believe that our cross-

section of society is generally aware of the existence of AI. However, I think that sense of

general awareness does not amount to much real, actionable knowledge for the average person.

My own awareness stems mostly from my status as a millennial that grew up during the

technology age. I know that easily recognizable products like Apple’s Siri is an AI-based system,

and that AI is finding less front-facing uses in industry as well. That is where my knowledge

used to end. It was enough to claim that I have some awareness for the purpose of the survey,

and I sensed similar trains of thought with two of my interviewees. To people like us, AI is like

brain surgery; we know it exists and that it has practical uses, but we have no real idea of how it

works ourselves.

This leads into the next interpretation of what “some awareness” means. My last

interviewee works closely with computers, and thus has much more general knowledge than the

other interviewees just through osmosis by working in the tech industry. However, she disagreed

with the idea that she had “high awareness” after I compared her situation to the previous

interviews. From her perspective, the extra knowledge she had about AI served only to prove

how little she truly knew about its capabilities.

 These two differing viewpoints show that there is a large, measurable knowledge gap in

the “some awareness” category of answers. Some of us chose this answer because we are

generally aware that AI exists, and others because they are familiar enough with AI to know that

there is so much more that they do not know. With this broad range of mindsets being

represented, it makes sense that this answer was chosen by 72% of the interviewees. In contrast,

I did not have the chance to interview someone from an older generation but am willing to

believe that is where many of the “no awareness” answers came from, representing 18%. Lastly,

I find it hard to believe that 10% of people can claim to have a high awareness of AI. This was

corroborated by many of classmates. Either many more people work intimately with AI than I

realized, time and technology is beginning to pass even me by when compared to Generation Z,

or some people think they know more than they really do.

The Economic/Political Impact of AI

I – like many others – fear what will become of the people left behind by AI-driven

automation more than anything. Workers have always been the true producers of the economy.

As the Covid pandemic exemplified, the rich have nothing if the people on the ground aren’t

driving forklifts and manning the cash register. However, as the advent of AI continues to

pervade our industries, those jobs will disappear to automation and take the power the working

class holds with it. The rich will have less to fear from strikes or labor shortages, and generally

trend towards an economic self-licking ice cream cone while the working class gets left in the

dust.

Per Andrew Yang (2018), the average American is only 1-2 paychecks away from

homelessness. Pervasive AI adoption will widen the already expansive wealth gap in America

and drive many average Americans into destitution. This will not be limited to America,
however. Kai-Fu Lee (2018) states “the gap between the global haves and have-nots will widen,

with no known path toward closing it” (p. 32) in reference to expanding automation. So, what is

supposed to happen to all these workers being left behind?

The immediate answer to that question should be that the governments of the world

would support their citizens – it’s what governments are supposed to do, after all. However, in

America specifically, faith in government is at an all-time low (Yang, 2018). How could it not

be, especially when those statistics were taken before a global pandemic that the entire US

government completely mishandled? Why would anyone trust the same government that

provided a measly $3,200 over two years of historically bad economic turmoil to be prepared to

handle further waves of mass (and likely permanent, in many cases) unemployment of its

population that automation will cause? Yang (2018) argues that the concept of universal basic

income is a solution, which I agree with, but am not holding my breath for with the track record

of the U.S. Government.

I do no doubt that AI will improve upon many facets of life for the wealthy, ruling class. I

do, however, doubt the willingness of capitalist governments to adequately provide a respectable

life for a population that is no longer doing anything to produce more wealth for the ruling class.

The Sociological Impact of AI

AI, if handled correctly, holds the key to a true utopian society. I see a world where a

person works because they choose to, not because they need to. As the technology advances, it

could solve issues that plague humanity such as climate change, disease, and famine. Each of

those is a lofty goal but is only impeded by human-specific limitations like available time and

expertise. For now, it is inevitable that AI will reach the point where it is more than capable of
making all those things a reality. The roadblock will then be a question of if human society can

restructure itself around a new world order.

If it cannot, then we are looking at a much more dystopian future. One where the rich

thrive in ivory towers while everyone else fights for scraps, like the Folding Beijing example

used by Kai-Fu Lee (2018). Essentially, it will be an exacerbated version of what is already

happening in many places around the world today. Lee (2018) further mentions that these types

of situations left unchecked with the advent of AI are very real concerns for both present-day

economists and humanitarians. “These chasms in wealth and class can morph into something

much deeper: economic divisions that tear at the fabric of our society and challenge our sense of

human dignity and purpose” (Lee, 2018, p. 185). The direction that global society will trend in

due to AI advancements will likely continue to be hotly debated by optimists and pessimists

alike, but what will that mean for people as individuals?

The Psychological Impact of AI

A life without work is likely a difficult concept to grapple with for many people. Per the

class interview statistics, job loss warranted the most concern at 32% of answers. Coinciding

with that is 17% of respondents citing a decline is social-emotional wellbeing. These two are

related. From the utopian perspective of AI, a society that no longer needs to work could suffer

widespread crisis of identity. Even in today’s age, many people define themselves by their

occupation. Take that away and what remains?

I would argue that this question presents more of an opportunity than it does a

hinderance. Give a person a truly free lease on life to do whatever they please, and on a large

enough scale we could see a cultural explosion orders of magnitude greater than events like the

Italian Renaissance. Skills that are generally regarded as personally desirable, but low-earning
and thus unviable, such as arts, music, and craftsmanship would become commonplace. This

society would still have room for those still driven to work. Jobs driven by or enhanced by

compassion would still be needed, potentially more than they are today (Lee, 2018). This would

allow humanity to flourish and display what truly sets us apart as a species: the ability be

creative. We would be free to ponder the philosophy of what our existence means – and then

determine the answer ourselves.

Conclusion

The unavoidable progression of AI is a double-edged sword. The introduction of another

form of ever-growing intelligence to the world raises many practical and moral concerns. For the

most part, most people don’t even truly know what’s coming. Things such as mass

unemployment that will dwarf what we saw during Covid are just one of the many issues that the

world’s governments will have to face. Global restructuring of society is likely to not only occur

but be a necessary step. However, it’s still unclear what form it will take.

In the coming years and decades, AI could uplift humanity to our next stage both as a

species and as citizens of the planet. It could also drive a deeper wedge into the problems that

pervade today’s society. While I personally yearn to achieve a utopian society, I do not see it as

the likely outcome. Given the fact that the global wealth gap is wider than ever, the wealth

generated by the AI industry will likely serve to only worsen the situation. The future of

humanity could very well be decided on the humanitarianism of the ultra-billionaires running

super-AI companies. Given that the only motivator that drove today’s billionaires to get where

they are today is greed, I do not think we will be in good hands. I hope that I am wrong.
 References

Lee, K. (2018). AI superpowers: China, Silicon Valley, and the New World order. Houghton

Mifflin.

Yang, A. (2018). The war on normal people: The truth about America's disappearing jobs and

why universal basic income is our future. Hachette UK.