Nowadays, the question of the influence of artificial intelligence on modern society is becoming more and more pressing. While some people believe that AI’s impact on society is mostly positive, others are worried that society may not yet be ready to live in a world where computers are superior in intelligence to humans. I am inclined to agree with the first opinion.
On the one hand, the feeling of anxiety caused by artificial intelligence in people is more than understandable. If previously the idea that intelligence equal or even superior to that of humans would be created could only exist in the context of science fiction, now this idea has become a reality, and people are frightened by the fact that they will soon lose their lead of other living beings in terms of intellectual development. Artificial intelligence has shown that it is even capable of creating works of art, which has called into question not so much the very existence of artistic professions in the future, but rather the possibility of monetizing them. At the same time, the threat has become increasingly serious for people involved in scientific activities, because artificial intelligence is capable of displacing them from the field of work, which also leads people to the idea that their abilities may soon be useless.
On the other hand, many of these fears are not entirely justified. Almost all of them are based on the idea that employers will begin to replace people with artificial intelligence due to its practicality, but do not take into account the fact that employers themselves are people and in any case depend on public opinion. Artificial intelligence may be superior to humans in terms of development parameters, but its lack of freedom actually makes it completely safe. Even in the context of creativity, AI is only capable of learning from the work of other artists and creating something based on the work it has analyzed, without creating something completely new in terms of ideas. At the same time, the positive impact of artificial intelligence is invaluable. First of all, this is manifested in science: the speed with which it can carry out calculations and analyze statistics allows it to make many discoveries much faster than if ordinary people were looking for answers. In medicine, AI is already capable of performing complex operations, saving the lives of thousands of people in developed countries. This leads to the conclusion that the benefits of artificial intelligence are great, while the threat is not its very existence, but the potential for destructive use by other people.
To summarize, we can see that almost all fears of artificial intelligence are based on exaggerating its capabilities and not noticing the positive aspects of the new technology. This leads me to the idea that artificial intelligence should be assessed as a positive creation for our society and for the society of the future.