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Will AI Change the World?

October 2024
by Anna Starecheski

    A self-driving car. Siri. TikTok’s “For You” page. What do these things have in common? They’re all powered by artificial intelligence, or AI. It’s a technology that allows computers and other machines to do tasks that typically require a human’s ability to think or learn.

    For some people, AI is exciting. They say it could be key to solving some of the world’s biggest problems. But 41 percent of Americans think that AI will do more harm than good.

    A self-driving car. Siri. TikTok’s “For You” page. What do they have in common? They’re all powered by artificial intelligence, or AI. This technology allows machines to do tasks that typically require a human’s ability to think or learn.

     For some people, AI is exciting. They say it could solve some of the world’s biggest problems. But 41 percent of Americans think AI will do more harm than good.

    A self-driving car. Siri. TikTok’s “For You” page. What do these things have in common? They’re all powered by artificial intelligence, or AI. It’s a technology that allows computers and other machines to do tasks that typically require a human’s ability to think or learn.

    For some people, AI is exciting. They claim it could be key to solving some of the world’s biggest problems. But 41 percent of Americans think that AI will do more harm than good.

The Bright Side of AI

Can this new technology help make the world a better place?

Art by Andy Potts; iStockPhoto/Getty Images (all images)

Medical Help
You may never have a robot doctor like this one. But AI might help your doctor give you better care.

Society for Science/Chris Ayers Photography

Grant Wang

    You’re scrolling through Instagram. All of a sudden, you stop. A kid from your gym class has posted a mean meme. He and his friends are always sharing bad jokes and making cruel comments. Clearly their goal is to upset people—and it works.

    But what if you never had to see those offensive posts in the first place?

    That’s where Grant Wang, 17, comes in. He saw the effects that online bullying had on one of his best friends. So he decided to do something about it. 

    Grant created a tool called MLOffense. It uses AI to detect cruel words in 100 languages. The goal is to stop hurtful social media posts from making it to your feed.

    MLOffense isn’t available to everyone yet. But Grant believes it will help create kinder online spaces. How else might AI be able to make the world a better place in the future?

    You’re on Instagram. You see a mean meme. A kid from your gym class posted it. He and his friends often share bad jokes. They make cruel comments. They want to upset people—and it works.

    But what if you never had to see those offensive posts? That’s what Grant Wang wondered. He’s 17. One of his friends was bullied online. Grant wanted to help.

    He created MLOffense. It’s a social media tool. It uses AI to detect cruel words in 100 languages. It can stop hurtful posts from getting on your feed.

    MLOffense isn’t available to everyone yet. But Grant believes it will help create kinder online spaces. How else might AI make the world a better place?

    You’re scrolling through Instagram when all of a sudden, you stop. A kid from your gym class has posted a mean meme. He and his friends are always sharing bad jokes and making cruel comments. Obviously, their goal is to upset people—and it works.

    But what if you never had to see those offensive posts in the first place?

    That’s where Grant Wang, 17, comes in. He saw the effects that online bullying had on one of his best friends, and he decided to do something about it.

    Grant created a tool called MLOffense. It uses AI to detect cruel words in 100 languages. The goal is to stop hurtful social media posts from showing up on your feed.

    MLOffense isn’t yet available to everyone, but Grant believes it will help create kinder online spaces. How else might AI be able to make the world a better place in the future?

Fast Learning

    You probably already use AI tools every day. You ask Alexa or Siri what the weather is like. Netflix suggests shows you might enjoy. Photo filters turn your face into a cartoon. But many experts say there’s way more that AI can do—and that excites them.

    Think about it this way: AI is kind of like a computer brain. It learns by taking in huge amounts of information, just like you do. The difference is it can sort through that information—and use it to solve problems or make decisions—much faster.

    That might sound scary. In fact, you probably have some questions: Will robots take over the world? Will computers steal our jobs someday? But many experts say AI won’t make human workers obsolete. Instead, it will help them do their jobs better.

    One of the most exciting examples of this might happen at the doctor’s office. AI could quickly sort through hundreds of test results when you’re sick. This will help your doctor more easily figure out what’s wrong. AI could also take notes on your visit. That way your doctor can pay more attention to you. 

    In other words, you probably won’t be seeing a robot doctor anytime soon. But AI tools might help your doctor give you better care.

    You probably use AI every day. You ask Alexa or Siri for a weather report. Netflix suggests shows you might enjoy. Photo filters turn your face into a cartoon. But experts say AI can do much more. And that excites them.

    AI is kind of like a computer brain. It learns just like you do—by taking in information. But it can sort through information much faster. And it can use that information more quickly to solve problems or make decisions.

    That might sound scary. You probably have some questions: Will robots take over the world? Will computers steal our jobs someday? But many experts say AI won’t make human workers obsolete. Instead, it will help them do their jobs.

     One of the most exciting uses for AI might be at the doctor’s office. AI could quickly sort through hundreds of test results when you’re sick. This will help your doctor more easily figure out what’s wrong. AI could also take notes on your visit. That way your doctor can pay more attention to you.

    Will you see a robot doctor soon? Probably not. But AI tools might help your doctor give you better care.

    You probably already use AI tools every day—for instance, when you ask Alexa or Siri what the weather is like, get suggestions from Netflix for shows you might enjoy, or use photo filters to turn your face into a cartoon. But many experts say there’s much more that AI can do—and that excites them.

    Think about it this way: AI is kind of like a computer brain that learns by taking in huge amounts of information, just like you do. The difference is that it can sort through that information—and use it to solve problems or make decisions—much faster.

    That might sound scary, and you probably have some questions: Will robots take over the world? Will computers steal our jobs someday? But many experts say AI won’t make human workers obsolete. Instead, it will help them do their jobs better.

    One of the most exciting examples of this might happen at the doctor’s office. AI could quickly sort through hundreds of test results when you’re sick, helping your doctor more easily figure out what’s wrong. AI could also take notes on your visit, allowing your doctor to pay more attention to you.

    In other words, you probably won’t be seeing a robot doctor anytime soon—but AI tools might help your doctor give you better care.

An Exciting Future

    In recent years, AI has become more powerful than ever before. AI tools help blind people “see” by describing their surroundings. They help people who speak different languages talk to each other faster than ever. They even help scientists design new parts for spaceships.

    Much of this was impossible a decade ago. So who knows what the future of AI could look like? Will it help solve the problem of climate change? End world hunger? Or even just help you pick out the perfect outfit for a job interview someday?

    Right now, the possibilities seem endless. And Grant Wang plans to be a part of making it all happen. He’s now studying AI in college. “I think it’ll be a lot of fun,” he says. 

    In recent years, AI has become more powerful than ever. AI tools help blind people “see” by describing their surroundings. They help people who speak different languages talk to each other faster. They even help scientists design new parts for spaceships.

    Much of this was impossible a decade ago. So who knows what the future of AI will be? Will it solve the problem of climate change? End world hunger? Or even just help you pick out an outfit for a job interview?

    The possibilities seem endless. And Grant Wang plans to help make it happen. He’s studying AI in college. “I think it’ll be a lot of fun,” he says. •

    In recent years, AI has become more powerful than ever before. AI tools help blind people “see” by describing their surroundings. They help people who speak different languages talk to each other faster than ever. They even help scientists design new parts for spaceships.

    Much of this was impossible a decade ago, so who knows what the future of AI could look like? Will it help solve the problem of climate change? End world hunger? Or even just help you pick out the perfect outfit for a job interview someday?

    Right now, the possibilities seem endless. And Grant Wang, who’s now studying AI in college, plans to be a part of making it all happen. “I think it’ll be a lot of fun,” he says. •

The Dark Side of AI

Stealing our jobs, spreading lies—will AI change the world for the worse?  

Art by Andy Potts; iStockPhoto/Getty Images (all images)

Looking Ahead 
Some experts worry that AI will become smarter than humans. What happens then?

    Imagine this: You’re scrolling through TikTok. Suddenly, a video of the president pops up. He’s saying the country is under attack by aliens. 

    Then you see another video of the president. This time, he’s telling you the first video was a fake. But both videos look exactly the same.

    Soon videos of aliens fill your feed. So do posts from people telling you it’s all a lie. What’s real? What’s fake? It’s impossible to tell.

    This might sound like the far-off future of fake news. But it could be our reality within a few years. AI tools can create fake photos and videos that look real. They can also help these images spread quickly. 

    The problem isn’t just the technology, though. It’s also the people who use it. Some experts say we can’t stop anyone with bad intentions from making AI do evil things. They wonder: Are we ready for the dark side of AI?

    Imagine this: You’re scrolling through TikTok. A video of the president pops up. He says the country is under attack by aliens.

    Then you see another video. This time, the president says the first video was fake. But both videos look real.

    Soon videos of aliens fill your feed. So do posts from people saying it’s all a lie. What’s real? What’s fake? You can’t tell.

    This might sound like the far-off future. But it could soon be our reality. AI tools can create fake photos and videos that look real. They can also spread these images quickly.

    The problem isn’t just AI. It’s the people who use it too. Some people have bad intentions. Some experts say we can’t stop them from making AI do evil things. They wonder: Are we ready for the dark side of AI?

    Imagine this: You’re scrolling through TikTok. Suddenly, a video of the president pops up. He’s saying the country is under attack by aliens.

    Then you see another video of the president. This time, he’s telling you the first video was a fake. But both videos look exactly the same.

    Soon videos of aliens fill your feed, as do posts from people telling you it’s all a lie. What’s real? What’s fake? It’s impossible to tell.

    Does this sound like the far-off future of fake news? Well, it could actually be our reality within a few years. AI tools can create fake photos and videos that look real, and they can also help these images spread quickly.

    The problem isn’t just the technology, though. It’s also the people who use it. Some experts say we can’t stop anyone with bad intentions from making AI do evil things. They wonder: Are we ready for the dark side of AI?

Smarter Than Us

    It’s normal to be excited by the future of AI. After all, it’s already making our lives easier. A chatbot can help you study for a math test. Spotify helps you find new music based on what you already like.

    But the fact that AI can do so many of the things humans can do might not be something to celebrate. Experts say that 12 million people in the U.S. may need to change jobs by 2030. That’s because AI could replace them.

    Geoffrey Hinton is known as “the Godfather of AI.” He’s been working on the technology since the 1970s. He recently quit his job at Google because he’s afraid of the future of AI. He thinks we need to stop improving it until we understand it better.

    Hinton once thought that we were a long way from AI being smarter than us. “I thought it was 30 to 50 years,” Hinton told The New York Times. “Obviously, I no longer think that.”

    It’s normal to be excited by the future of AI. It already makes our lives easier. A chatbot can help you study for a test. Spotify helps you find new music.

    But is it good that AI can do things that humans do? Experts say 12 million people in the U.S. may need to change jobs by 2030. That’s because AI could replace them.

    Geoffrey Hinton is known as “the Godfather of AI.” He’s been working on AI since the 1970s. He recently quit his job at Google. Why? He’s afraid of the future of AI. He thinks we need to stop improving it until we understand it better.

    Hinton used to think we were a long way from AI being smarter than us. “I thought it was 30 to 50 years,” he told The New York Times. “Obviously, I no longer think that.”

    It’s normal to be excited by the future of AI. After all, it’s already making our lives easier. A chatbot can help you study for a math test, and Spotify helps you find new music based on what you already like.

    But the fact that AI can do so many of the things humans can do might not be something to celebrate. Experts say that 12 million people in the U.S. may need to change jobs by 2030—because AI could replace them.

    Geoffrey Hinton, known as “the Godfather of AI,” has been working on the technology since the 1970s. He recently quit his job at Google because he’s afraid of the future of this technology. He thinks we need to stop improving it until we understand it better.

    Hinton once thought that we were a long way from AI being smarter than us. “I thought it was 30 to 50 years,” he told The New York Times. “Obviously, I no longer think that.”

Right and Wrong

    What’s so dangerous about AI becoming smarter than us? 

    Experts say it could start doing things without humans telling it to. And humans have something that AI doesn’t: ethics. That’s the ability to judge what is right and wrong. 

    Walid Saad is a professor of engineering at Virginia Tech University. He gives the example of a self-driving car. To “drive,” it uses AI to pick the best route. Right now, humans are trying to program these cars to do the right thing. But how do we prepare it for the tough decisions a human driver makes?

    Let’s say the car is driving toward a cliff. The only way to avoid driving off the cliff is to run over a deer. “AI might drive off the cliff, because without ethics, all it knows is it’s not supposed to hit living things,” Saad says. 

    There’s no doubt that AI is here to stay. But before we give it more power, some experts say we should ask an important question: Is it really worth the risk? 

    What’s so bad about AI becoming smarter than us? Experts say it could start doing things without humans telling it to. And humans have something AI doesn’t: ethics. That’s the ability to tell right from wrong.

    Walid Saad is a professor of engineering. He gives the example of a self-driving car. To “drive,” it uses AI to pick the best route. Humans try to program these cars to do the right thing. But how do we prepare it for the tough decisions a human driver makes?

    Let’s say the car is driving toward a cliff. To avoid driving off the cliff, it would have to hit a deer. “AI might drive off the cliff, because without ethics, all it knows is it’s not supposed to hit living things,” Saad says.

    AI is here to stay. But before we give it more power, some experts say we should ask: Is it worth the risk? 

    What’s so dangerous about AI becoming smarter than us?

    Experts say it could start doing things without humans telling it to. And humans have something that AI doesn’t: ethics. That’s the ability to judge what is right and wrong.

    Walid Saad, a professor of engineering at Virginia Tech University, gives the example of a self-driving car. To “drive,” it uses AI to pick the best route. Right now, humans are trying to program these cars to do the right thing, but how do we prepare AI for the tough decisions a human driver makes?

    Let’s say the car is driving toward a cliff, and the only way to avoid driving off the cliff is to run over a deer. “AI might drive off the cliff, because without ethics, all it knows is that it’s not supposed to hit living things,” Saad says.

    There’s no doubt that AI is here to stay. But before we give it more power, some experts say we should ask an important question: Is it really worth the risk? 

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