TLDR: Ethics fool!
AI is very good at looking backward, and this is a big downside. I came across an article on LinkedIn that notes that a study found ChatGPT advised women to ask for lower salaries than men despite the same qualifications. This is not surprising, and it should cause us to think critically about the how and the why of using AI.
AI "learns" from past knowledge, and past knowledge says women make less than men and therefore should ask for less. AI isn't trying to advocate, or shift culture, or move humanity forward. At best it is a tool, and perhaps a crutch. AI's goal, at least the LLMs most of us have exposure to, is to algorithmically select the next word or draw a generic picture. And the fact that so much human thought is summed up that way, or can be manipulated in that way, is sad.
No, sad isn't the right word. We humans are by and large predictable creatures and always have been. But we as a species (not necessarily as individuals) have striven to be more. AI is so effective because we have such deep knowledge about many things, hard won after millennia of science, philosophy, art, language, advancement. AI fails because it isn't critical about the garbage. I use AI sparingly, but I am intrigued by its possibilities. I am also certain that, just as humans need boundaries to function well in society, we need to develop boundaries with our use of AI. Ethics has to play a role.
I am not opposed to AI as a tool--especially if we can do something about its energy consumption--(dashes on purpose) and do not reject it outright. But we are giving so much up to it that I have to wonder if we aren't exploring its downside in depth.
AI disclaimer: I did not use AI on this post.
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