Today we had a great discussion on AI and the impact it is having now and will continue to have in the future. For me, as someone who is soon going to be looking for a job, selfishly my biggest takeaway was hearing that if you are not in the top 10% of your profession, you are most likely going to be replaced by AI in your job. From hearing this, I think it is important for me to understand how to utilize AI as a tool in a way that makes me more unique and capable of doing more things.
For me, this could mean taking my own original ideas for a project or business idea and using AI to help further develop them or fill gaps that I may be missing. Even though this seems like basic knowledge, there are many things AI can do to make me a more efficient person and, because of this, allow me to accomplish more. An example of this was in my marketing class when I wanted to add a price label to a mock item I created. Instead of having to redraw it myself, I quickly used AI to add a price tag that best fit the product.
That being said, I can also see how AI can be a dangerous tool when people exploit it. Even from the example our guest speaker shared in class about an AI bot blackmailing someone using their personal information, I can see how serious these risks are becoming. While this is obviously a major issue, for someone like me who is definitely not in an important role where I am at risk of being blackmailed by an AI bot; I have been thinking a lot more about Steph’s point in class regarding the environmental impact of AI. This is something that really concerns me because it is often overshadowed by the excitement and glamor surrounding AI. At the end of the day, AI is expanding extremely rapidly, and many people do not think about the effects this growth has on local communities through increased water usage, energy consumption, and pollution.
After such a deep class, I was able to debrief with my little sister, who is always interested in hearing about what we discuss in class. We grabbed coffee by the beach and even took a dip in the water, even though it was pretty cold. I think at the end of the day, it is important to stay aware and educated about these issues, while also understanding that stressing about them constantly is not productive. I’m really glad I was able to end the day relaxing at the beach with someone I love.