Blog Post #9 - Age of AI

It is really interesting to me how much AI has evolved over the years. Since this documentary was made, AI has definitely grown even more since then. It is so complex to even understand how it works and that is what is really interesting to me. I’m originally from Scottsdale, Arizona, so I spend a lot of time there. Since I was born, the area has definitely started to grow and boom with lots of headquarters for companies. The Tempe, Phoenix, and Scottsdale areas have really become very important major cities, around that part of the country. Due to this, I have seen a lot of AI take over a lot of things. Around the ASU campus, they have a robot that delivers food- fully driven by AI. The bot knows where to pick up and drop off the food, when to cross the road, when cars are coming, and if you bump into it, it says it’s really sorry! Another cool thing that just recently has started is Waymo self-driving cars. There is nobody actually in the front seat driving, and these cars are everywhere. Before you get in, it makes sure to verify who you are and it also speaks to you and makes sure you are comfortable during the ride. It’s really fun too, you can play music as loud as you want and adjust the temperature, etc. It really fascinates me how both of these things work and how advanced the technology behind them are. As much as it is truly fascinating and costs less for companies that will not have to pay workers, it can also be a downfall. AI can take over any kind of job, in the sense that it’s intelligence is way smarter and faster than the average human being. I also find it very scary that women are most at risk for having jobs taken by AI, as women do more clerical work which can easily be taken. It frightens me knowing that can happen, especially after how hard it was for women to be able to get into the working force and be respected. I also think that the privacy invasion part is also a major risk. AI can learn and generate its own thoughts and create an entire portfolio on who you are based on some of the smallest things you may say or do around it/with it. It can be good in the sense that it allows a more personalized experience for people regarding products AI is involved in. However, if national security is threatened that creates an even bigger problem. In my opinion, if there is any threat as big as that then artificial intelligence needs to be restricted in some ways, but how would one go about that is the difficult part. Same goes for identity theft and online security, if it causes such a risk to individuals then is it really worth it?