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By Candace Amaker
The use of AI in everyday life seems to be a double-edged sword for some. While it can be useful when making plans or writing papers, there are people out there who misuse AI for their own selfish reasons.
But it seems that the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to artificial intelligence, because it continues to rise all around the world. With the promise of endless productivity and immense creativity, we are tempted to bring AI into our lives just to make things easier for ourselves.
Do you think that’s a bad thing though? After all, why would we want to take the most difficult path to success and fortune when there’s a much easier route right there in front of us? This psychological temptation can be hard to ignore.
The Path of Least Resistance
Okay, imagine this: You’re in your last year of college and have a 5,000-word essay due at 11:59 pm today that’s worth 50% of your grade. You haven’t even started on your paper and it’s already 5 in the afternoon! No notes, no drafts. Nothing has been prepared to help you with writing your essay.
That’s what you think until you remember a seemingly random ad that you saw the other day while watching YouTube. ChatGPT, wasn’t it? Wasn’t that the app that can generate whole essays for you in the snap of a finger?
Sure, ChatGPT can basically write an entire paper for you, but don’t be fooled. There’s a reason why teachers and professors are able to tell if an essay was generated by AI. And that’s because people submit the generated essay without editing it at all!
AI tools like ChatGPT should be just that: Tools. They’re meant to help you in tasks, not do every little thing for you. This is why people are finding it harder to think for themselves nowadays.
Using Your Own Brain
With the rise of AI comes the rise of agency decay, it seems. If you’re not familiar with the term, agency decay is the steady erosion of a person’s or group’s capacity to think independently. That ability is why we all are so different from one another, because we have our own opinions and beliefs.
As we utilize generative AI more and more, people may not notice how reliant they’ve become on it. Having trouble figuring out what to eat for lunch? Just ask AI to produce a list of dishes that are healthy, tasty, and easy to make. Can’t decide on whether to wear a purple shirt or a green shirt today? Just ask AI to pick an outfit for you instead.
Do you see the problem with that? While artificial intelligence can be useful, it can also become a crutch. Yeah, you can ask for an opinion on what to eat or what to wear every once in a while. That’s not a bad thing in itself as we sometimes go to our friends and family for stuff like that too.
But it’s different when you’re just asking a machine to decide life choices for you. It’s different when you’re relying on AI to do work for you. You’re capable of doing things by yourself, but are choosing not to because artificial intelligence is right there.
AI Takeover?
No, it’s not like there’s any danger of artificial intelligence taking over the world. At least not like in sci-fi movies. You know the ones: The Terminator, I, Robot, Megan, etc. The list could go on forever, but this article isn’t about movies, is it?
But think about it. AI is literally everywhere now! You got to the drive-thru of a fast food restaurant and who’s speaking from the intercom? Here’s a hint: it’s probably not a human!
Necessary Struggles
Have you ever sat down and written something on a piece of paper just to see if you remember how to write? Or solved a math equation just to see if you remember how to do math without the use of a calculator?
It may seem like these struggles are unnecessary, and yeah, they probably are. But doesn’t it feel good to know that you aren’t dumb? That you don’t always have to rely on a computer to autocorrect your words when you spell something wrong? Or have a calculator there to easily solve whatever equation you want even though you can work it out on your own?
Keep that mindset. Purposely make some things harder than they need to be. Those struggles define us and they make life more interesting than any AI can!