Living in the Age of AI

I thought that the Frontline documentary Living in the Age of AI was incredibly interesting and thought-provoking. The film discussed the implications of an increasing use of AI in our society, including on privacy, national security, and online security. One point I found particularly interesting was the role of big corporations like Google, Amazon, and Facebook in the rise of AI. These companies hold so much power and data, and their utilization of AI poses a major threat to all of us. The documentary also talked about the economic impact of the rise of AI, and how it is beginning to lead to job displacement. I feel the effects of this personally, with the career path I hope to go into. I want to be a Graphic Designer, but already so much of what Graphic Designers are trained for years to know how to do, can now be done in a fraction of the time by AI. 

The documentary did touch on many of the positive impacts and implications of AI for our future. One of these is advancements to healthcare. Not only does AI make gathering data and forming diagnoses a more efficient and accurate process, but it also assists in drug discovery. Additionally, AI has proven to be

incredibly helpful in scientific discovery and environmental efforts. Scientists have been able to use AI to predict and track environmental changes, weather patterns, and possible effects of climate change. In terms of privacy and security, I came to the conclusion that AI does more harm than good. While AI can provide softwares like encryption or improved password systems, the cons outweigh the pros. AI intrinsically demands so much data collection and tracking abilities, therefore violating privacy and security on a multitude of levels. 

Overall, this documentary was an educational and eye-opening film, and has led me to reconsider my thoughts on AI in our society.