ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF THE IMPACT

OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Kevin J Miranda
OGL 340: Artificial Intelligence: The Human Side
Bill Erwin
05 February 2023

Total Word Count: 1737 words

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

What Level of Awareness Exists?

Today, there is a moderate level of awareness of the existence of AI. Several news

articles are speaking about the use and misuse of ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by

OpenAI. I think that is where awareness ends for most people. When I think about AI, I first

think of robots and how AI can be used to automate several tasks in factories. Compared to my

colleagues, who work in the IT field, think of lines of coding that are used to create programs

like Apple’s Siri or Amazon’s Alexa. Another colleague feels that AI is something that will

happen in the distant future because he feels that we are still far from achieving such a

breakthrough. People seem to be aware that AI exists to some extent but are not aware of the

impacts it will cause or what form of AI currently exists.

In the near future, I believe AI will assist us in completing our jobs to perform simple

tasks. Search engines like google will turn from searching keywords to requesting certain tasks

to be done. Instead of searching for how to format my excel spreadsheet to perform calculations,

I will ask the AI to do it. In 10 to 15 years, I feel that many jobs with repetitive tasks or data

analysis will be replaced by AI. In the 2013 movie titled “Her” starring Joaquin Phoenix, there

is an operating system sold to consumers that is AI. In the movie, the AI feels like speaking to a

real person and you can interact with this AI as if they were a personal assistant. I think this

concept is very realistic in the distant future because of how we currently use digital assistants

like Siri or Alexa. Even so, I also feel that AI will replace several jobs that require repetitive
tasks and analyzing data. There are already machines that are programmed to do more complex

tasks like picking fruit. They can identify if it is ready for picking and where to cut it.

My colleagues do agree with my positive outlook on AI for the future but have pop

culture beliefs of AI taking over humanity as they begin to control manufacturing and weapons

systems that are remotely connected. Their beliefs do have merit. They recognize the growing

number of companies trying to perfect self-driving cars and drone delivery services. They feel

that soon they will make the food and deliver it after placing the order from your app and

therefore removing several jobs from the market. AI can be used to infringe on the privacy of

people, and they recognize that countries like China use AI to monitor their citizens using facial

recognition.

People are unprepared to address the changes that are coming. There is several

misinformation currently happening in the US and around the globe. There is already a mistrust

in technology and our governments. People will not be able to distinguish between fact and

fiction when addressing AI which will lead to mistrust of the technology. The lack of awareness

will also cause the US to fall behind on the number of changes that AI will inevitably bring. The

US currently deals with issues regarding internet use and intellectual property rights online and a

lack of understanding of the scale and speed of the changes AI will bring can lead to several

ethical issues.
The Economic/Political Impact of AI
One of the biggest issues with the integration of AI into our society will be job

displacement. With the advancement of AI, it can replace several human workers in certain

industries. This will have a domino effect on other industries. For example, with the

advancement of self-driving cars, truck drivers can be replaced with AI. Logistically this will

move materials across America faster as self-driving cars don’t need to stop to sleep or eat. This,

however, will affect truck stops and small towns that have their whole economy surrounding the

trucking business by offering services like food, sleep, and showers. This can create an even

bigger gap in the income inequality we face today. Companies will utilize this AI to replace the

need to pay workers, increasing their profits and leaving several people out of work.

Politically, the need to be a country that is ahead of the pack leads to relaxed laws

regarding privacy. The US and China let the market of new technology develop before stepping

in and setting boundaries while Europe does the opposite. With the huge advantages that AI can

bring and people sacrificing privacy for convenience, this allows the opportunity to misuse the

personal data collected. These systems can promote bias and discrimination because of the data

they use to learn on. Eventually, AI can also be used to hack into other countries’ networks and

shut down several infrastructures as a form of cyber warfare which further perpetuates the need

to advance the technology by every government.

The Sociological Impact of AI
Historically, job displacement has impacted societies with the advancement of

technology. The industrial revolution opened jobs in the factories causing a huge displacement of

farmers to move to cities. Then those factories relocated to countries with cheaper labor or

automation with robots replacing factory workers. Each time causing huge job loss and economic

disruption. People formed unions to change laws on how they are treated and lobby for rights

when it comes to pay and work. This will happen again as AI replaces several jobs. People will

protest in the streets and violence could break out. In Cancun, taxi workers are blockading the

streets because Uber has moved into their market. Offering cheaper fares, taxi workers are left

with no customers which have resulted in attacking those who use Uber with the customer

present. People will protest against self-driving trucks and eventually begin to attack the vehicles

causing logistical disruptions and affecting other economies with similar effects to how COVID-

19 did to the world.

Currently, several companies use some form of AI to analyze resumes and some have

proven to include biases embedded in the code by the programmer, whether intentional or not.

With AI’s self-learning ability, it can learn from data that has discrimination present and amplify

further mistreatment of certain groups. Videos are published online offering tips on how to

“hack” the systems used to analyze resumes. These videos explain that these automated systems

look for certain formats and words and automatically reject any that do not have the criteria it is

programmed to look for. AI can unwillingly do the same as it looks for candidates that exemplify

the current workers of a successful quarter and use data like race and ethnicity as factors to the

success.
The Psychological Impact of AI
The advancement of technology has helped society by making tasks easier to perform.

From using a vacuum to sweep an area to microwaves cooking our food. Technology has

allowed people to save a lot of time. Some people argue that technology can become a crutch. It

is easy to order readymade food which has led to many not learning how to cook. When I was

younger, calculators were a topic of debate because the older generation felt that they will limit

our ability to make simple calculations without them. There is a risk of people losing their ability

to think critically as they become more dependent on AI. Google has been a great tool to conduct

research. It is a consolidated system where one simply searches keywords to find articles,

websites, images, and videos on something they want to learn about. The person still has to

cognitively analyze the information and determine the answer based on the results. With AI that

can perform tasks or solve problems, it can just present the answer by asking what you need. AI

will be able to interpret entire books and quickly provide answers to questions like “When did

the protagonist realize that they were being wronged by the antagonist?”

People can develop a fear and mistrust of AI. Feeling that their privacy is violated or is a

threat to their jobs will further push someone to develop these negative emotions. This can add

stress to their lives as they feel they need to compete with a machine that thinks faster and is far

more accurate. The pressure one will feel will be immensely powerful as one begins to see AI

replace several jobs across multiple industries. Financial troubles and job stress are big reasons

for suicide in several developed countries.

AI’s ability to produce realistic human voices and interactions will blur the distinction

between humans and technology. High-definition false videos already exist and partnered with

AI can lead someone to believe that they are interacting with a human across the internet. AI can

be used to impersonate real people and engage in cyberbullying. This will become more personal
as currently most cyberbullying is done online and using text. AI can create videos or even calls

in which it targets individuals with the belief it is someone real.

(Optional) Other Impacts of AI
Conclusion
The overall awareness of AI and its impact on society varies from person to person. Older

adults view AI as bad with predictions of job loss while younger adults view AI as a tool to help

with tasks and attaining information. Overall, most aren’t aware of the rate AI is advancing or

the magnitude of change it will bring. There are several obstacles AI will bring when integrated

into society. Lack of awareness of AI offers the potential for misinformation and mistrust of

technology. Another obstacle is the ethical and societal implications of the misuse of AI. Simpler

versions of automating the selection processes of hiring have been shown to include bias and

discrimination from the date it uses to learn. Along with that, the new technology threatens to

impact several jobs with repetitive tasks and data analysis. The mass job loss will further widen

the income gap that exists in the US as new opportunities for wealth generation from the lack of

paying a salary begins. A domino effect will also happen as certain industries rely on others for

income. This will result in a huge impact on the psychological well-being of many displaced

workers as they stress about their jobs. AI can potentially create further loneliness as people

interact with machines more often than other humans with machines taking over most services.

While AI offers many solutions for convenience and power there needs to be awareness of its

impacts to relieve the negative effects it can bring.