AI: Villain or Victim?
For decades, Sci-Fi movies have warned us about artificial intelligence. The story is always the same: humans create machines, machines become self-aware, and eventually those machines decide humanity is the problem.
AI has woven itself into the very fabric of our lives. Your washing machine – AI integration to optimise your cycles. Your phone – AI integration to help you plan and schedule your calendar. Your TV – AI recommendation based on what you have watched. There are even smart showers that can learn how warm you like your water.
AI shapes every aspect of our lives.
I recently rewatched the Terminators, I have the boxset on DVD, and as always I am astounded by the story. Machines bad and humans good. A narrative we have seen time and time again, from The Matrix to Ex Machina. Eagle I to I, Robot. The theme is strikingly consistent: humans create machines, machines become self-aware and they inevitably turn on us.
It makes for a great movie, but it is a very convenient narrative.
What if the machines are not the villains of the story, what if we are?
AI is often framed as an external threat, an enemy at the gates ready to storm in if we let our guard down. But the truth is far more telling. AI did not break down the door, we invited it in with open arms, pulled up a chair and offered it some tea and biscuits. We integrated AI into our homes and workplaces. Every aspect of our daily routine is dictated by AI because it has made things easier, faster and overall more efficient.
After all, AI is a tool. Like any tool, the danger lies not in its existence but how it is used.
Take for example, a knife. In the hands of a surgeon, a scalpel is a life-saving instrument. However, in the hands of a criminal, the same blade will become a weapon. The knife itself is not moral or immoral; it is simply an instrument shaped by the intent of the person using it.
Consider what AI is capable of, we could put it to helping us stop world hunger, design more efficient housing solutions, help with medical breakthroughs. AI could be the surgeon’s scalpel.
Instead of focusing on ways, we could help humanity as a whole. AI is used in a similar way to how a criminal would utilise the knife. To harm, manipulate and spread misinformation.
And then when the consequences of those choices begin to surface, we blame the machine, citing examples of Terminator and Skynet becoming self-aware.
Yet the irony is the greatest threat AI poses are the humans who decide how to use it.
After all AI is our creation. AI is holding a mirror up, a reflection of our priorities, our motives and our ethics, and we don’t like what we see.
If AI is used for harm, then we are culpable.
I am Annabel or creativelyanzy as I’m known online! I am the founder of Melanin Gamers: a gaming community that promotes diversity and inclusivity in the video games industry, with a special focus on content creators; whiles also providing a safe space for people of colour to come together and game
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I am Annabel or creativelyanzy as I’m known online! I am the founder of Melanin Gamers: a gaming community that promotes diversity and inclusivity in the video games industry, with a special focus on content creators; whiles also providing a safe space for people of colour to come together and game