This is really a kind of stream of consciousness post on the topic as I’m formulating my thoughts to post on my writing spaces.
Teachers around the world are in a bit of an uproar over the current dominance of AI bots that are getting a lot of attention these days. Some teachers feel threatened and blame the advancement of technology. Some teachers are interested in it while some embrace what it could do to help them. Everywhere, educators are training themselves how to use programs that can detect whether a student has used AI to help write a paper or do an assignment.
People in the 40s and above are conversing over the “scariness” of AI to personalize their online experiences or even produce text pieces in their professions. Again, it is a fear-based response with their feeling of threat.
The entertainment industry has protested that using AI is a threat to their jobs and copyright issues. Yet, they have no qualms about putting their work out into the media/Internet-sphere where AI takes it sources from.
So, it is a bit of a quandary, isn’t it?
As with most issues, I stand in the middle. I see both sides. I agree with aspects of the yeas and the nays.
In education, we cannot stop advancement. The whole point of education is to promote the advancement of the youth to create, imagine, theorize and apply to a better future. So, why do so many educators want to hold on to the past? It’s the ego – I had to study and write my own papers, so should you. I didn’t have the convenience and help of technology, so I had to think for myself and create myself – so you should, too. But, why? Shouldn’t we instead encourage ways to make the most of the technology AND bring forward the more traditional ways?
In age, there is not a lot that can be done other than to just have an open mind. We don’t seem to mind watching TV programs with commercials convincing us to buy or take prescription meds for just about any minor or major ailment without considering how we are being brainwashed into believing we need them. We don’t mind when stores put certain items on sale to convince us to buy something we may not necessarily need. So, why is it scary that our online advertisements are for things that we mention we might actually need, instead? Why is it scary that a machine can analyze and filter information in seconds to make things more convenient for us? Isn’t this what we wish for everyday – easier and faster?
In entertainment, well, I get it. My livelihood does not depend on me getting credit for my work. I have not yet experienced finding copies of my own work out there or losing out because a machine has done it faster and cheaper. Still, I sort of feel that whatever I “agree” to put out into the public space is always going to be up for grabs. I would hope that there is some overseeing of giving credit where credit is due, but this is hard to monitor. I fully support the fact that the government has to create some more viable policies to ensure that the individuals do not suffer. Yet, if you’re gonna be in the public eye, why is a machine any worse than a person “borrowing” your words that you’ve put out into the space already?
It’s still a quandary.
It’s interesting anyway and I’m sure that even just 50 years ago, we never would have imagined having such a conversation. When we watched The Terminator it was just a sci-fi wishy washy idea that machines would take over control of the world. Now, here we are….
~T π₯πβοΈ