One day at dinner, my father asked “Has anyone heard about a website called ChatGPT ?”. My brother excitedly pulled out his phone and demonstrated its purpose by generating a speech for my Aunt’s upcoming birthday. I was stunned by how quickly the speech was generated, only then I realised how accessible AI has become. I instantly wondered how it was able to mimic human intent and what information it gathered to be able to manufacture such an outcome. The very next day, I found my classmates using ChatGPT to generate their English coursework before paraphrasing (to avoid any detection of AI) and submitting it. I wondered if their coursework will achieve higher grades than my genuine hard work. Coming full circle, I recognize how difficult it is to differentiate between genuine human effort versus AI generated outcomesAs such, those who are conversant with AI tools will likely have an unfair advantage to get ahead in achieving desired results e.g. better grades, rewards, etc.
However, ChatGPT does offer many advantages like improving productivity. I have to admit ChatGPT did occasionally come in handy for last minute speeches or even brainstorming content ideas for late assignments. When I was filling out a volunteer form for an organization, I wavered on how I could make myself look like a more appealing candidate. So I turned to ChatGPT for ideas on how to do so and was immediately met with the perfect wording which made me stand out.
While utilising AI, true creative output may be challenging to maintain. I believe having originality in your work is vital, the idea should be yours but the way in which it is presented could be altered with the help of AI such as paraphrasing to achieve the perfect wording. Nonetheless, using AI to generate the entirety of the piece is completely and utterly profane. It would drive people with genuine honesty and passion to surrender in the face of a dispassionate machine. The world would be robbed of any sort of creativity and individuality.
As a 17-year-old, I would describe authenticity as being original and genuine, with elements of inspiration taken from others but the work done entirely generated by the person.
Some of my peers believe AI content is completely and utterly safe with the reasoning that “It will only produce what you program it to do and nothing else” and use it on a daily basis, with the perspective that if it serves me, it is fine. Majority of people do believe that it is a helpful instrument as it has proved to save lives in moments of terror.
A new safety feature included into the latest Apple's watch, for example, monitors a person's health and alerts carers if a person is having a heart attack or worse.
Another example of AI improving the healthcare system is in University of Florida researchers working on developing a “smart ICU” which contains cameras, wearable and light sensors as well as noise meters to detect if a patient is in pain and requires assistance. They are also working on AI algorithms to recognise facial expressions and body language to help machines assess patients when nurses are busy with other patients. These examples prove how AI is beneficial for society and will improve our standard of life.
However, others believe that AI-generated content is quite frightening because of how powerful it is becoming and how easily workers with a specific skill set today may be jobless in the future due to the overtaking of AI, which is seen in most factories investing in machines instead of human workers. It is estimated that 40% of jobs today will be replaced by AI which would possibly increase the homeless crisis globally as their only source of income is taken away. When AI falls into the wrong hands, it becomes immensely hazardous, resulting in corruption, scamming and many more negative outcomes. Web scraping is one approach in which AI is utilised in web data gathering. Web scraping is the process of extracting data from websites using automated bots or programmes. AI is just emulating human behaviours by web scraping data from Google, Pinterest, Tik Tok, Instagram, and other sites. The only genuine way to keep your data private is to stop accessing the internet. Is that something you are willing to do?
I hope for my future to be full of people with originality and refreshing opinions with AI contained and only being used to push or further advance someone’s ideas. I hope in the future, we are able to use AI as a tool rather than a source of creativity. I hope we, humans, will be able to catch up to the recent implosion of technology as well as subjecting it to only being used in certain fields. This would allow more people to be active in work and regain the human touch in their respective industries. I envision more art with raw and refined emotions produced by humans as we slowly fight back against the AI epidemic. However, I know not to be naive to have so much faith in the human race to be able to beat AI technology which is rapidly conquering each industry. One by one. I am aware how the future may only consist of further advanced AI technology being manipulated for wicked uses.
Due to the Epidemic, I believe unique roles and opportunitie]s will arise from it. AI detection will be in extremely high demand within schools and universities. In my own school, we have a website to put our work through before submitting it to detect the authenticity of it. This promotes academic integrity and results in better improved student outcomes. Although in all honesty, the higher-paying employment would be AI monitoring and maintenance because, true to human nature, nothing will ever be enough and we will constantly be greedy for more advancements. With this, more people will become lazy and never leave the house. It is already progressing in Japan, these people are called “Hikikomori”. A person who withdraws from all social contact and frequently does not leave their homes for years at a time.
A government poll identified approximately 541,000 (1.57% of the population), but many experts feel the total is significantly higher because people sometimes wait years before seeking treatment. These people can still earn a living and get a constant food supply due to the technology of today allowing and complimenting their lifestyles.
A keen observation I made within my peers with the recent explosion is that more boys seemed to be comfortable with adopting AI and often used it to benefit or entertain themselves, even using it in replacement of Google or any other trusted search engine. However, girls tend to be more wary and fearful of it suspecting its intentions and speed which it is developing.
The topic of the ethical use of AI within the creative industry has come up in recent debates with my friends. Majority of my peers agree that building a collaborative relationship between humans and machines, ensuring that both contribute to the creative process in a respectful, transparent, and accountable manner, is the key to ethical AI use in the creative world. However, some began to argue that the creative realm should be completely free of artificial intelligence emphasizing on the human touch within the industry, ‘to gatekeep’ artwork. One example of AI in the creative world which has quickly been used for horrid purposes is “Deepfaking”. A video or audio of a person in which their face, body or voice has been digitally altered so that they appear/sound like someone else. This AI tool is especially used on underage celebrities (specifically young girls), politicians, influencers or anyone who has made their face public on the internet. The intent can range from malicious content to promoting false information, as seen on pornographic websites and/or scam calls. The availability of this tool caused scandals and severe cases of disinformation in attempts to ruin politicians or celebrities reputations. My friends and I are fully terrified of this advancement and opt for AI to remain outside the creative industry unless completely necessary.
I, personally, believe AI is a useful tool but only in the right hands as it can easily turn into a dangerous weapon when programmed to. However, you may not share this opinion and if you care to share your beliefs, thoughts or what you envision the future of the creative economy with AI may hold, please feel free to do so.
