Over the past few years, the use of generative AI has skyrocketed for different purposes — such as creating visual media, writing essays, or coming up with ideas. Many people utilize and rely on AI, but many critics suggest the overuse of AI diminishes critical thinking. AI has always been around, and machine-learning AI was always used for algorithms. Nowadays when people think of AI, it’s usually referring to generative AI.
For one, AI has many benefits. AI tools such as ChatGPT and SoraAI are great for coming up with content. Confused on an assignment and need to brainstorm? Use ChatGPT to help! In case you’re stuck in a difficult situation and can’t figure out how to fix it, asking an AI could help you. Generative AI is only getting more advanced as time progresses (because it’s learning to recognize and recreate things more accurately over time), which makes it more reliable to use than it did before. That doesn’t mean it’s fully reliable, however.
Besides personal use, AI has its benefits in practical settings. AI is more accurate with diagnoses in medicine than actual doctors are. ChatGPT had a 90% successful diagnostic rate, compared to actual doctors who had a successful diagnostic rate of 70%. AI is also used as a tool for medical students with case study simulations so students can understand the procedures they must do to patients in a hospital-like setting without putting anyone at any risk if any mistakes were to be made.
However, many people feel skeptical about the prominence of AI in today’s society. For example, the environmental impact is drastic, AI power plants use up a lot of water — so much water that nearby towns are suffering from a lack of water in their water supply, and the residents foot the insane water bills. Junior Diya Syangbo said, “AI is too smart, and I think it’s very overused. The environmental impact is horrible, it takes up an entire jug of water just asking ChatGPT a question.”
Critics of AI also point out how people can use AI for all the wrong reasons, such as AI generating a video or image that can hurt another person by putting them in a bad light. AI has gotten so much more realistic with generating images and videos that many people can’t even tell the difference anymore between what’s real and what’s not — which only makes spreading misinformation easier. Additionally, overuse of AI exacerbates the lack of critical thinking, as people stop trying to think for themselves and let the AI do the thinking for them. Senior Tara Gyaltsen says, “using it too much messes up your brain, it’s kind of like doomscrolling”.
There are many implications that come with the rise of generative AI usage in more recent years, both beneficial and harmful for people and society. While the ethics and the benefit of AI is still significantly debated and controversial, one thing remains true — AI took the world by storm, and its impacts are heavy.
