By Ray Cardello for June 22, 2023, Season 20 / Post 19

Artificial Intelligence, AI, has been with us for years, so what about it has people so riled up? Is it fear that AI will take over and rule our lives, supercomputers will replace humans, or ignorance of the concept? I feel it is the latter, as fear of the unknown can take down the strongest among us, and it can be debilitating for people who will not do the work to understand a concept. We have been in a technology explosion for the last 100 years, and nobody can argue that this growth has enhanced most lives. Still, some advances have negatively impacted individuals and society. I point to the Smartphone as one that has done both. These tools give us an infinite amount of information in our hands, but that device has made us dependent on the technology and disrupted social connectivity. AI is a tool, and we have to learn to use that tool for good, not evil. But that decision is not the government’s to make.

AI has been with us for years, from robots making cars to helping surgeons in the operating room. We have benefited from AI, and in some cases, it has replaced our job. Like any other phase of technology, the advances ebb and flow. We are in a dynamic stage that concerns people because they cannot keep up with the pace. Fear trumps knowledge. I have been using AI for my writing for years and would not compose anything, from an article to a text, without it. Sometimes it is unnerving how the writing assistant understands my thought process and recommends a more straightforward way of presenting it. It also is my grammar and spell check. That is simplistic compared to the programs that are writing books or songs. The ability of AI to “think” like a human is startling, but we have to be aware of the pitfalls and develop means to distinguish between AI and human products.

Fear and trepidation are not to be solved or assuaged by a government agency or an AI Council. I fear government intervention more than a free enterprise unchained to explore possibilities. That quest by free thinkers is the core of advances that make our lives easier and more enjoyable. We should not allow the government and its inherent politics to control this technology. The government is designed to represent us, but we are no longer free people when we enable the government to assume control of our lives. Over the last two years, we have seen the results of our government wielding its power. The restrictions and rules grow as our freedoms wane.

The fear is that AI will cost jobs and eventually control the human race. Progress has always forced the workforce to morph. Think of manufacturing if every item we use was made by hand. We would never have enough supply or afford the cost. Labor had to shift to other needs. As for computers taking our place in the hierarchy, computers are still machines, and we always have control of the delete or power buttons. I am excited about AI’s possibilities and hope we can embrace it and quicken our pace to understand and use it rather than fear the potential. The potential of Joe Biden, Diane Feinstein, or John Fetterman putting their fingers on AI should be our greatest fear.