Artificial intelligence, or AI, is continuing to develop in increased amounts over the past few years; with that, comes mixed opinions on the benefits and drawbacks of utilizing this new technology. Like many other topics, while there are pros, there are also cons.
Pros:
Always available: While connected to the internet, AI is always available whether it be from a phone, laptop, or any other electronic device you prefer. Since AI isn’t an actual person, this results in it always being available for your convenience online. This is very beneficial if you need any customer support assistance while places aren’t open or if you are not able to go somewhere due to inclement weather. You are able to do anything straight from any electronic device almost anywhere for free.
Fast response time: AI is very convenient for when you need a quick answer while in a time crunch. This can result in increasing productivity on tasks and is also very beneficial especially if you need to get a fast answer. AI can gain more popularity for this reason because most people want a fast answer to their questions or concerns.
Business advantages: AI is beneficial for workplaces, especially if you want to make more money. You don’t have to pay AI to work or schedule certain shifts because it is able to work and operate 24/7. AI can also work faster than humans since the tasks it is doing are constant and repetitive; you could program AI to do anything you want at an unimaginable speed. Companies who are not able to hire and/or struggling financially may find this beneficial since it’s basically a one-time cost.
Cons:
Cheating: Using AI has become more common in schoolwork. In my opinion, the most common use of AI in this category is writing essays and papers. This is unfair to the people who are actually doing the assigned work in their own time with their own knowledge. There is also no benefit in cheating which leads to my next point of people showing no learning improvement.
No improvement/learning: This con goes hand-in-hand with cheating. The point of homework is to review and learn materials, but when AI is doing the work for you, you essentially aren’t learning anything. If you want to see improvement, you won’t while having AI do your work. While some people do homework for the purpose of “just getting it done,” that shouldn’t be the case.
Unemployment: Depending on the job, AI bots can replace humans. As stated previously, you don’t have to pay AI, it can work 24/7, and since it has a fast response time, it can work very efficiently. AI can work more than humans since it doesn’t have basic human needs. For example, AI does not need a lunch break. This could lead to companies replacing some or all of their employees with AI. By replacing humans, this can lead to companies experiencing layoffs which can really affect a person’s life. In short, it isn’t fair to workers since they are able to do the job as well and actually need to work to make a living.
Since AI is so complex, there are so many more pros and cons regarding the technology aside from the ones listed above. But, one question still remains: do the pros of AI truly outweigh the cons?
