The world is witnessing a new global revolution through Artificial Intelligence (AI). It is changing the world rapidly. AI can complete tasks faster and more accurately than human beings. It takes man hours to Photoshop a picture, draw something, and paint animations but with the help of AI, it is now doable within seconds. AI can understand, learn and generate talks in other languages. By using AI, one can change their face and voice in videos. It is unimaginable that AI is automatically writing our emails, making our school notes and assignments, and working as our virtual assistant. Gradually, it will impact all spheres of life. The possibilities of AI are endless, but it is also full of uncertainties. The focus of the article will be on the selected impact of AI on military warfare, the job market, and education, and highlight a generic understanding of the pros and cons of AI in human life and give suggestions to use and regulate it for the benefit of human beings.
Even though AI development started five to seven years ago, people started noticing it after the launch of ChatGPT’s 3.5 version in November 2022. ChatGPT is an AI software model also called Large Language Model (LLM). It can copy the way human beings speak. It is made by an American Company called OpenAI. Its popularity skyrocketed as it became the world’s fastest-growing online service. It took two years for Twitter and three years for Netflix, ten months for Facebook and two months for Instagram to get one million users. While ChatGPT made one million users in just five days. Owing to ChatGPT’s popularity many big companies launched their chatbots. In response to ChatGPT, Google launched Google Bard, Microsoft launched its Bing AI and Snapchat launched its My AI. Here a question arises if the technology is so innovative why influential people like Elon Musk has warned about AI? He predicted that the danger of AI is much greater than the danger of nuclear warheads.
First, AI would change the dynamics of warfare. In the future, AI will be incorporated into both commercial and military robots, giving them the potential to carry out duties and operations independently. It can be used by Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems also called Killer Robots” or “Slaughterbots” to recognize and kill human targets without the involvement of a human. This can be more dangerous than the systems involving humans because humans empathize, think, and act rationally. States should come together to establish international agreements or treaties that regulate the use of AI in warfare. These agreements could set clear guidelines for the development, deployment, and ethical use of AI-powered lethal weapons.
Second, AI can impact the job market. As it can work more efficiently than humans with less time consumption, for that reason many people can lose their jobs. The fear of people is justifiable because whenever a new technology was introduced it affected the job market. For example, when smartphones came, the jobs of landline telephone operators were all gone. When ATMs were introduced, the jobs of bank tellers decreased. After introducing online websites, jobs for booking clerks have gone down. Due to industrial robots, working laborers lost their jobs.
However, the fear of AI is far more than these technologies. AI’s impact will extend across all domains, rather than being confined to any specific area. It is the first time that the jobs of creative people are at risk. Or instance, the jobs of logo designers and musicians can be lost. Mid Journey and Stable Diffusion AI software can generate images, graphics, and logos in minutes. The AI music tool of Google can generate a song in different ways using different musical tools. It will be easier to generate any type of music within seconds. Millions of jobs can be compromised because of this new technology. According to World Economic Forum’s Future Jobs 2020 report, 85 million jobs will be replaced by AI tools.
It all seems scary but there is also a plus point as the old jobs are wiped out new jobs will emerge. In the same report of the World Economic Forum, it is also mentioned that 97 million new jobs will emerge with the help of AI. As Ron Schmelzer an AI analyst said, “AI is not a job killer but a job category killer”. The new jobs need artificial intelligence skills. On the one side, if a graphic designer loses his job, on the other side, a person is needed to give instructions to AI on how to make logos through graphic designing. That is why it is said that AI will not take your job but a person who knows AI will.
Third, AI can impact our education system. Teachers have caught students cheating in exams and submitting assignments using ChatGPT. Many people are using it to complete their academic thesis and research works. There are many other ways to use AI tools positively. For example, countries like Japan have already introduced guidelines that how to use AI in schools. It can be used to reduce a teacher’s workload; it can be used to make students understand the concepts better; can be used for English learning and fact-checking.
Despite its enormous capacity for good, AI currently presents likely risks to world stability, peace, and security because of its unpredictable nature and possibility of harm. Now the question is, how to control AI, and if not control, at least to regulate it. The first thing that can be done is to educate people about AI, its tools, usage, and the scams through AI. Laws should be made to terminate some AI tools which can be a security threat to the state and a threat to the citizens’ privacy, Considering the AI’s possible military uses, it should be stressed as to how important it is to maintain human decision-making components in autonomous weapon systems. Furthermore, there is a necessity of creating a morally sound structure to guide global AI governance. Regarding AI’s beneficial effects, these advancements have the power to completely change society by assisting in the eradication of illness, addressing global warming, improving detection systems, and enhancing peace initiatives. The fact is that AI is a tool which can be used positively as well as negatively. It depends on the person who is using it and for what purpose.
Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author.