What you may not know about Artificial Intelligence
Robots are pretty cool, engineers and other talented people use their own minds to program machines to print 3D objects, play major roles like the creation of Voyager 1 by NASA, and support other scientific research, and much more. However, we have made so much progress in robotic research where Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been the star of the show since 2020. AI is nothing new, in fact, AI research started in the 1950s with English mathematician and computer science pioneer Alan Turing. Fast forward to the 2010s, Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s Alexa, and social media algorithms reintroduced AI to us. Most of us didn’t even realize what they actually were, we immediately thought, “this is so cool! Now my life can be just a little easier!”.
These little machines and programs can give us any information within seconds of asking it, yet at what cost?
The other night I was watching the news with my parents and all of a sudden the topic was how chatbots are now integrated in student’s lives… My immediate thought was, “why?”. No matter what age a student is, the reason why we go out into the world and earn an education is to use our own brain muscle! I’m going to be blunt and say this. It is genuinely a waste of money if someone is voluntarily dependent on ChatGPT and any other related AI program. How do you think we got here in the first place? We used our beautiful brains!
As a writer, a woman with a bachelors in environmental studies and a minor in writing and rhetoric, and someone who loved creativity, Artificial Intelligence drains the life out of individuality and knowledge that can be passed down to younger generations. Think of our kids who are receiving an education, yet are encouraged to “talk” with it. It breaks my heart to see a curtain hide the true point of education.
It may give you cool ideas on whatever you’re asking it, but we have been and will always be fine without the use of AI.
Wait there’s more!
ChatGPT and others alike are able to give you answers because of these massive data centers. Since the popular view of AI is positive as of now, chilled water is one of the main reasons why it’s still going. Large data centers can use up to five million gallons PER DAY, yes, you read that right. Much of this water surrounds communities and ultimately places them at risk. Water in general is crucial to every living being on this planet and the fact that insanely large amounts of it are only being used to cool off these buildings is horrendous.
Only 3% of water is fresh and 2.5% of that is stored in glaciers and ice caps. This only leaves 0.5% of the planet’s water available to reach the industrial,agricultural, and basic needs of eight billion people. For each question we ask AI, ~one-fifteenth of a teaspoon of water is used, but when billions of people are asking each day of each year, that is an insane amount of water wasted on something that was never needed in the first place.
All of the water that AI “drinks” could have been a part of a community’s drinking water, someone’s bath water, and fresh water from our beautiful lakes.
I often feel that the use of AI is addicting to our society. We feel that it makes our lives easier, we have information in an instant, and we aren’t as stressed. Yet, I want people, especially kids to find their own creativity. Each of us holds so much potential in our knowledge and what we can do with it.
I’m asking you, whoever you are, no matter how old you are, and wherever you are, to take a step back from AI and dive into whatever makes your heart, mind, and body sing! Your younger self will thank present you by the way.
“If you see a child falling out of a 10 story window and you have the ability to catch them, you would use every ounce of your being to catch them. You are there 24/7, you’re not going off to the side and waiting patiently for the right moment.” - Her Deepness, Sylvia Earle
