Generations of movies and television shows have taught us to be afraid of artificial intelligence. If you’ve ever watched a single movie on AI, you know that it eventually turns on people. Now the future is here and we actually have AI in our homes and it’s becoming increasingly popular online . . . just how scared should we be?
Should You Be Afraid of AI?
The simple answer is no. AI is controlled by humans and while it may seem like it can think for itself, it really can’t. It’s using human input for everything. That being said, humans CAN be scary, so perhaps a better question would be . . . should we be afraid of humans using AI?
Why is Artificial Intelligence So Scary?
Aside from movies telling us that AI will infiltrate everything and try to kill us all, what makes it so terrifying?
One of the biggest fears surrounding AI, particularly right now, with ChatGPT and Midjourney and DALL.E becoming popular, is job replacement. As a writer, this is a fear I really understand. After all, you can now ask ChatGPT to write an article with specific keywords and it does a pretty decent job in seconds. Far faster than I can!
Artists and designers are also getting worried, as MidJourney can whip out incredible images in just seconds. Sure, it’s still flawed (six-fingered hands, anyone?), but it is improving constantly and I have no doubt that it will figure out hands soon enough.
Other industries are likely to see major changes due to AI, as well. These include:
- Healthcare: AI can be used to improve diagnostics, personalized treatment plans, and drug development.
- Education: AI can be used to personalize learning, automate administrative tasks, and develop intelligent tutoring systems.
- Finance: AI can be used to detect fraud, automate investment decisions, and improve customer service.
- Transportation: AI can be used to improve safety, reduce traffic congestion, and optimize routes for logistics.
- Retail: AI can be used to personalize customer experiences, optimize inventory management, and automate checkout processes.
- Manufacturing: AI can be used to optimize production processes, detect defects in real time, and improve supply chain management.
- Energy: AI can be used to optimize energy consumption, improve grid reliability, and reduce carbon emissions.
- Agriculture: AI can be used to improve crop yields, reduce water usage, and detect diseases in livestock.
- Legal: AI can be used to automate routine tasks, analyze large volumes of legal documents, and improve legal research.
- Marketing: AI can be used to personalize marketing campaigns, optimize advertising spend, and analyze customer data for insights.
If you’re in any of these industries, you are probably wondering if you’re going to lose your job to a machine. The answer is . . . you may. And that is definitely scary!
Why We Should NOT Be Afraid of Artificial Intelligence
The way I see it, AI is here to stay. Nothing you say or do will change that. Is it frightening? Yes. Many things are in life, but technology is always improving and that means we need to keep up with it. It’s the best way to get ahead.
Storytime! When I was 15 and 16, I nannied for a family. The parents were classic Disney animators and they did the drawings by hand. This was right when 3D animation and computer animation was just starting out and they were horrified by it. The fact that a computer would take over their art was ridiculous. They didn’t even have a computer in their house.
Over the years, they became obsolete. No one was doing hand-drawn animation any longer and despite their kicking and screaming . . . technology marched on. Without them. Last I heard the mother was working as a checkout clerk at a grocery store and the father was unemployed.
When I first ran into issues with AI in my writing job, I realized that I could be like that family, resisting the future with all my might. Or, I could embrace the changes and learn to roll with them. This is an exciting era! We have incredible new opportunities and so much to learn. Why not take advantage of it?
So, if you’re worried that AI will take your job, look for ways that you can learn to use AI to help you in your job or even to create a totally different side hustle.
What Should You Do?
If you find yourself worried about AI or worse, it’s actually affecting your job, you need to look at how you can use it. Here at Replace Your Brain, that’s exactly what I’ll be teaching you to do. I’m constantly learning new ways to put AI to use, so follow along and pick up some tips along the way.