Artificial intelligence has rapidly evolved into a force that is shaping people’s daily lives. It can increase efficiency in many industries. Ai can respond to searches, create schedules, summarize information, or produce content. While people believe that Ai promotes efficiency and convenience, its development has gone unchecked which makes it a risk to society. From job displacement, invasions of privacy, and its effects on the environment, the harms of Ai are becoming more dangerous.
Ai is projected to take over 85 million jobs, according to the World Economic Forum. There may be new jobs but the transition is uneven, leaving many workers vulnerable. Ai is a known threat to privacy, it thrives off of data. This could be facial recognition which is monitored by Ai or your data could be exploited, tech like Meta and Google gather large amounts of personal information to create files based off of a single search. Ai has also been used to spread misinformation, it has the ability to generate deepfakes or its own content that has become indistinguishable between reality and media. These Ai tools can easily spread propaganda and manipulate public information. In 2024 a deepfake was uploaded that imitated the president of Ukraine calling for surrender against Russia, this is just one demonstration of how misleading Ai can be.
The equipment that powers generative Ai needs a lot of water and electricity to function without overheating, such as data centers that use 5 million gallons of water per day. While this water is recycled, it is still not reusable after it has been consumed by these centers. The energy it takes to train just one model of Ai can release as much carbon as five cars lifetime and the hardware used to run Ai systems creates e- waste which can contribute to carbon emissions that are extremely harmful to the environment.
Ai has become so harmful that it has called for global action. The development of Ai powered weapons pose an extreme threat. Nations including the US are now in an arms race, rushing to develop Ai for warfare. China has taken the lead in this race with a further development of Ai weapons such as controlled drones that have been demonstrated to work as a dangerous team without human control, while the US is ahead in high end Ai tech systems that contain selective weapons. The president of the US, president Donald Trump has recognized just how fast Ai is developing in China and has called to meet with China’s president, Xi Jinping. The two met on September 23 and their meeting lasted throughout the day as part of a multi-hour summit agenda. President Trump invited the founders of Ai and other large tech industry founders to this summit as they too have claimed that Ai needs regulation. Both Trump and Xi have come to a mutual agreement on Ai restrictions but further details are currently disclosed.
Ai is a powerful tool that we as a society can shape how it is used in our communities. By using alternates or making changes you can reduce your reliance on Ai and its harmful effects. Here’s what you can do: switch out or turn off Ai tools, support ethical businesses that prioritize privacy, encourage others to explore non Ai options, use analog tools such as libraries. By making the change to non Ai alternatives, you’re not only keeping yourself safe but building a safe human centered society. The idea of Ai is not inherently bad, it’s a tool like any other tool that can be used for good and bad. Although when Ai replaces human connection and exploits information, it’s time to ask yourself: Is Ai really a necessity?
