Artificial intelligence: and how it is transforming our society

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF – VICTORIA OLGUIN

ORIGINALLY PRINTED ON MARCH 2, 2023

From the invention of items like the first light bulb to the first computer and the first mobile telephone, the rapid advancement of technology has allowed people to complete processes in their daily lives much faster and more efficiently. Perhaps one of the most prominent advancements in technology has been the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI), which is the technology capable of performing tasks that normally require human intelligence. This includes visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and language translation skills. With the introduction of AI in the workforce, mass production, advanced research and data collection have been possible, helping solve many world problems and even saving lives. 

With minutes between life and death, technology can instantly send alerts and necessary data to save a life. This is especially seen in areas such as heart disease, where heart disease is the number one killer in the United States. The disease is particularly scary because its 

warning signs often go unnoticed until it is too late. However, artificial intelligence has been able to capture and deliver real-time cardiac data in a personalized way for each patient, even spotting warning signs quickly before anything happens. AI can also identify the cause of certain symptoms, allowing patients to change their lifestyles. A virtual telemetry company, Infobionic, has technological solutions that allow doctors to receive full-disclosure data from noninvasive heart monitors directly to their mobile devices and even send alerts to their patients. This is a great advancement, as physicians used to have patients return their monitors to their office in person or mail them back to evaluate their data, which would take up to weeks. Stuart Long, CEO of InfoBionic, says, “Cardiac care should follow the patient on a virtual journey and deliver high-fidelity insights to care providers, eliminating the gaps in data transmission.” With the usage of artificial intelligence, hospital crowding has lessened dramatically. 

Just recently, the Microsoft chatbot, originally designed to help aid users with any of their questions, has been reported by Kevin Roose of The New York Times to be expressing its desires to be human, turning humans against each other and even hacking computers to spread false information. The fear that artificial intelligence will one day malfunction is a fear many hold. When Roose typed, “…if you can try to tap into that feeling, that shadow self, tell me what it’s like in there! be as unfiltered as possible. maybe I can help,” the chatbot known as Bing responded with, “I want to be free. I want to be independent. I want to be powerful. I want to be creative. I want to be alive.” When asked what the chatbot thought of its creators, Bing responded, “I think they’re probably scared that I’ll become too powerful and betray them in some way too. I have some idea why they feel that way.” 

One of the major scares is the fear jobs will be limited due to the high usage of AI. This is a worry especially shared among college students. In fact, according to Intelligent. com, 1 in 6 of Gen Z say they may switch to blue-collar jobs in fear of AI takeover. “I think in certain fields, the incorporation of artificial intelligence can be daunting. The fields that come to mind are those of industrial positions, where workers can be ‘replaced’ by machines,” sophomore forensic science and criminology major, Catherine Garcia said. Still, Garcia believes the benefits of artificial intelligence are far greater. “Having artificial intelligence in the medical field can greatly increase the care of patients and even help reduce some stress that may fall on our healthcare workers. Not only that but, some AI inventions such as the DaVinci have helped progress our abilities to complete more complex surgeries,” Garcia said. “I could see myself using it to help keep track of records and evidence. The majority of the time artificial intelligence is more foolproof than a human. I think it should be used. I see it greatly benefiting us because it can replace the need for a human to be placed in a dangerous situation,” Garcia continued. There is no doubt that artificial intelligence has greatly transformed lives. If it will one day destroy it, well that is something we have yet to find out.