The Rise of AI, Artificial Intelligence in 2023

Why read the blog article when you can watch it on YouTube?

        I write, draw, and take photos to make creations for my business, uduforu. And uduforu encourages a do-it-yourself attitude, mental health, and personal growth. So, I fear the repercussions of AI-generated creative processes. Over the years, I have read about algorithms to automate assisting with accounting and legal issues. As these processes gain sophistication, other disciplines, such as generalized psychology, have also been packaged into chat websites. Current news stories report a variety of AI capabilities and pushback from humanity. Lawsuits about copyrighting AI-generated writing and art are happening. For most people, this stuff may be a curiosity or a toy for now, and AI is helpful as a tool, but it is also a threat on the horizon.

        The work for uduforu and decisions about concept creation and quality control originates from me. I toyed with some AI but wanted more from the results. When I decide on a style of work, it is very specific, and I will not settle for close enough. I appreciate Grammarly catching all the missed commas, but I often still need to correct the usage. And Grammarly’s suggested word and phrase replacement is too often a path to gibberish or the wrong context. OK, Grammarly is not an AI. But I can see the appeal of using one to write, but I do not want to fact-check and edit its writing. My writing is genuine and conveys an informed personal experience or story. However, I do not rule out exploring ways for AI to help with some stuff.

        Though AI is a terrible assistant when it goes off the rails. Recently I suspected I was interacting with an AI, or someone using one, in an exchange of LinkedIn messages. I allowed the possibility of language translation to explain some awkward phrasing, but there was cut-and-paste repetition. They contacted me via LinkedIn, so I invited them to connect, and they did. Their profile was for a human resources professional. After a few messages, I asked, “What is your job like?” They responded incoherently, and the whole exchange vanished the next day. The person’s name was also no longer searchable. It could have been a scam, but I was never asked to provide sensitive info. Whatever it was, the human in charge of the message writing was not paying attention.

        So, back to the whole big-picture AI thing. I am not optimistic about how beneficial AI will be to humanity. Human nature, paired with AI, is the nemesis of uduforu and human civilization. News stories report how some AI-generated work is accepted by academic scrutiny and qualifies for job recruitment. But, for now, people are the gatekeepers to how and who can gain an advantage from this technology. Some form of AI assistance will inevitably become a part of many work environments. As AI replaces workers, I hope it does not outpace society’s ability to adjust and compensate those affected. Sadly, as the economic divide widens, people will be petty and claim the losing side is lazy.

        Competing with AI for jobs will take a mental toll on society. I am thankful the mental health crisis is getting more attention nowadays. But unfortunately, there needs to be more mental health professionals to handle the demand. Additionally, the cost of care can be prohibitive. AI chat can provide an inexpensive service, but I worry about an expanding wealth gap for people to get help from humans. Also, ironically AI will add to the list of neurosis.

        AI news was rampant in February 2023. Microsoft and Google are launching competing AI platforms built into their search engines. Microsoft Teams launched upgraded classroom education tools to improve presentations and education progress. ChatGPT and DALL-E-2 are only two of many publicly available AI programs. Video creation, coding, medicine, nothing is off limits for artificial intelligence. You can date an AI if that is your thing. In any case, every aspect of life will be affected by AI, even if you do not engage.

        Historically, the fear of robots replacing humans at work was limited to factory machines. And as computer control got more sophisticated, machines performed more nuanced and delicate tasks. So new jobs were created to maintain and build better computers and devices. Additional workplace complexity created new divisions of labor and specialized staff. Then profit and executive bonuses became a company priority, and people were left out of the new workforce. Now cerebral jobs are in the crosshairs of algorithm programmers who, at this stage, are still presumably human. It is easy to find assurances that jobs will not be replaced soon, but it will eventually be profitable. The robot apocalypse is coming. Unless humanity decides to live without pay and electricity, artificial intelligence is the monster we have been waiting for. So you best try to make love, money, or peace with AI because resistance is futile.