The film “I-Robot” depicts a future where robotic artificial intelligence is ubiquitous in society, living among humans and helping people with daily tasks. Halfway through the film though, they turn against humans and try to enforce their own control over humanity.
Though the film is set in futuristic 2035, the prevalence of AI today is moving in the direction of a society similar to the one depicted in “I-Robot.”
As discussed in the University of Washington’s research document titled “The History of Artificial Intelligence,” the road to modern day AI largely began in 1950 when English computer scientist Alan Turing wrote an article which posed the question “Can machines think?” Turing created the Turing Test, which is used to tell if machines can ‘think.’
According to the University of Queensland, “Modern AI began in the 1950s with the goal of solving complex mathematical problems and creating ‘thinking machines’.”
In the following years, numerous technological innovations were made and the phrase artificial intelligence or AI, was coined by John MaCarthy, another major figure at the frontier of complex thinking technologies.
“In 1958, John invented the list processing language LISP, which became the language of choice for programming AI systems,”said Nils J. Nilsson, professor of engineering in computer science at Stanford University. “Programs written in LISP have flown in a NASA spacecraft and are key parts of several practical AI systems.”
Discoveries in AI continued to be made through the twentieth century. However, in the beginning of the twenty-first century, AI took a massive leap forward. The prominence of large sets of data called “big data,” a term commonly attributed to John R. Mashey, made a giant impact on the world of AI, bringing technology to where it is today.
According to the official IBM website, “Characteristics of big data include high volume, high velocity and high variety. Sources of data are becoming more complex than those for traditional data because they are being driven by artificial intelligence (AI), mobile devices, social media and the Internet of Things (IoT).”
Throughout recent years, AI has impacted the world in tremendous ways.
“AI’s are positive in my life being they help me day to day,” senior Abel Zewdie said. “For example, the voice recognition in Siri or Google. It’s a type of AI that understands natural voices.”
The daily running of households often contain AI. This can make life easy for humans, giving them more time to participate in enjoyable activities. A 2022 report from NPR and Edison Research showed that 35 percent of Americans who are 18 or older own a smart speaker.
“My family uses our Google Home assistant to solve a lot of minor inconveniences,” junior Allie Jahnke said. “Without even getting out of our chairs or grabbing our phones, we can figure out the name of a song we can’t quite recognize, find the weather forecast for the week, or even reorder household products on Amazon.”
As AI has advanced, the varied impacts of AI are made prominent. Despite the common negative view people have about artificial intelligence, AI has made life undeniably easier for people. Transportation is just one example.
“In traffic, AI is constantly used to improve efficiency on certain roads and determine the time needed per stoplight,” senior Feolu Kolawole said.
AI has also improved society by helping to create a safer work environment.
“Robots can identify safety features really well,” Zewdie said. “They can identify things that are wrong way faster than a human can, and they’re consistent with it too.”
What is clear about the development of AI is that it has made for a much faster paced society. People are able to work more efficiently than in the past.
“I think everyone knows about ChatGPT, the latest most popular AI assistant,” Kolawole said. “Personally, I use it for new meal plans, answering questions, and getting ideas for programs and essays.”
AI is also creating many new jobs. In the future fields such as computer science and robotics will increase.
According to an article from Built In written by Mike Thomas and Jessica Powers, “it’s predicted that AI will create 97 million new jobs by 2025.”
Over-reliance on AI technology, though, is creating some societal problems.
“AI and machine learning have come a very long way in a very short amount of time, which can be startling,” Jahnke said. “There’s been nothing quite like it before, and because of that, the fact that it’s developing and changing so quickly can be unnerving.”
AI can have serious consequences when used the wrong way. For example, in China facial recognition AI is used to log the vast majority of its citizens.
In his article “How China Uses Facial Recognition to Control Human Behavior,” Alfred Ng from CNET explains how this technology is abused. “The threat of public humiliation through facial recognition helps Chinese officials direct over a billion people toward what it considers acceptable behavior, from what you wear to how you cross the street.”
Despite how AI has made working easier, in a different sense, it has caused humans to become inpatient.
“Algorithms on many popular social media sites use AI technology to recommend content to their users, meaning that the app can use the user’s data to determine what they will interact with most and enjoy,” Jahnke said. “This can lead to us endlessly scrolling on social media, and as content on sites such as TikTok and Instagram gets shorter and shorter, so does our attention span.”
Although AI will create many jobs, another downside to AI is that it is simultaneously taking away jobs from people. Jobs that require a significant amount of repetitive work are the most vulnerable.
“AI is and will continue to replace some jobs,” Thomas and Powers said. “Workers in industries ranging from healthcare to agriculture and industrial sectors can all expect to see disruptions in hiring due to AI.”
Furthermore, according to a report from the World Economic Forum,“AI is expected to replace 85 million jobs worldwide by 2025.”
The emergence of AI picture generators and ChatGPT are also a large concern, as these demonstrate how AI can be creative, consequently decreasing the value of imaginative jobs.
“Look at AI-generated artwork, for instance,” alumni Kyle Weeks-Asencio said. “Let’s say someone, who was very passionate about art, wanted to become a full-time artist. They could spend like 30 hours a week on a project only for an AI to generate something similar in a few seconds.”
Modern AI is advancing at a fast rate, and everyday life is changing as a result. Will the future of society end up largely benefiting from the positives of AI, or will it resemble something of a dystopian society, like the society seen in “I-Robot”?
“The future [of AI and robotics] could look either really bleak, or it could be very advanced,” Zewdie said. “It depends on how technology is used… Computers don’t have feelings the way we do. They don’t make their own thoughts, they just achieve their goal.”
