Is AI good for you?

In recent years we have seen a constant stream of reporting on AI. In reflecting on reading these articles and other considerations of the benefits and dangers of AI, I can’t avoid drawing on my personal experience with AI, to form an individual perspective… The main question in my mind is whether we are truly prepared for the implications of autonomous AI agents in decision-making roles.

My first personal experience with AI is in the widely explored application of producing written materials. I’ve worked with extensive written material requiring careful review and editing. AI-generated edits (e.g. with ChatGPT), I must admit, have been helpful given the speed and efficiency of delivering feedback and suggestions. However, over time I’ve noticed that I’ve increased my reliance on AI and have come to realize that it comes with the consequence of lost expression of my actual intended meaning which can only come from my careful review and rewriting.

Writing styles incorporate the use of treasured axioms, metaphors, analogies, nuanced use of words and phrases, and other aspects of linguistics that are not sufficiently comprehensible to the present generation of AI-driven tools. Since I’m naturally aware of my intended written communication, I found myself going back and forth, comparing the changes and working to recapture the lost bits of what I wanted to communicate. I expect that many of my generation will do likewise but I worry that younger and future generations may allow AI outputs to substitute for their own voice and personal expression and view the steering of their content and expression as consistently superior to their own.

Dealing with abstract but germane elements of reasoning which include conscious and unconscious thought, rational as well as intuitive judgment, and logical and emotional consideration in the context of prevailing social values and norms, past and present, are defining elements of what makes us human, groups, societies, and ultimately civilizations. The threads that connect our past and present are reflected in our heritage and culture.

The possibility that we don’t avoid the slippery slope leading to radical and unpredictable change which the present generations may now judge to be undesirable may not be so judged by future generations who’ve never lived in an AI-free world. So, while I acknowledge the many benefits coming from AI, I also worry that it can become a dangerous controlling agent. I would say my perspective can be described as filled with hopeful worry.

Do you have a point you’d like to make or an issue you feel strongly about? Submit a letter to the editor or a guest column.