Wright Community Shares Thoughts on the Usage of AI

What does the animated movie The Wild Robot, horror movie Megan, and futuristic Tron: Ares, all have in common? All these movies were released within the last 2 years, addressing nuanced themes surrounding the ethics on artificial technology. There are movies that can go as far back as Wall-E (2008), Terminator (1984), or even Metropolis (1927). All sorts of different types of media address this polarizing topic, for example, Detroit: Becomes Human (2018), Brave New World (1932) or Black Mirror (2011).. Although artificial intelligence has been around for the last few decades, why as of late has it taken the internet by storm?

Generative artificial intelligence has been the most recent breakthrough which creates new content  from existing databases through pattern recognition. Ethan Akarapunchai, a professor in the finance department, said, “AI is inevitable at this point. It will be incorporated regardless, so we might as well start adapting now.” Indicating that some educators are preparing their students for a technology-based industry. 

Alexander Garcia, a student pursuing a master’s degree in international studies/politics, agrees with the sentiment that AI is advancing rapidly, and acknowledged that they initially thought it was a joke but learned it can be a useful tool for activities like taking notes. However, Garcia also expressed concern over the reassessment of academic integrity, saying, “There is a rule right now that you got to have integrity for your work … it’s just, that rule isn't going to stop anyone from using it,” Garcia said.  Consequently, this puts the pressure of responsibility on the student to verify the information they are being given and using AI ethically.  

Nayeli Gutierrez, a student pursuing a degree in arts/illustration, first tried to keep an open mind to the introduction of AI but soon  realized the negative consequence of AI discouraging creativity. “Over time it just showed that AI is a regurgitation of our collective past more than it is something innovative as it has made us lazy and dependent on it and has stripped us of our creativity and critical thinking,” Gutierrez said. 

Gutierrez expressed disgust at the environmental effects and the high probability of AI taking up space in every career to steal away valuable jobs and the work of creatives. In addition, they seemed worrisome about what art will mean in the future, as art is crucial to self-expression and powerful to convey messages. They also mentioned how AI will affect student’s learning processes. Gutierrez said, “This is making it so people aren’t actually learning or trying to challenge themselves anymore.”

Librarian Tineka Scalzo also conveyed similar concerns on the ecological impact and energy and water usage of AI. Scalzo also said that they and their peers have noticed students requesting specific books at the library that AI recommended, and they do not actually exist. 

A student pursuing an accounting degree, Daniel Riley, recognizes that AI affects the environment in a negative way, however, feels that the damage before AI was already great and beyond fixable. Riley points out that they think collective action is futile. Riley said, “Yeah it does use up a lot of resources to work but doesn’t everything? There are so many things that are bad that we use every single day.”

Regarding students using research tools Scalzo said, "They are trying to research appropriately, like seeking out the original source, but if we are just getting answers from gen AI, that shouldn’t be the end of our research.” Furthermore, generative AI can also be used as a method of summarizing topics and that can be a great starting point for independent deeper research. However, accepting only the summary can omit important context or misrepresent it and leave a distorted version.

Ultimately, there will continue to be varying opinions about artificial intelligence. Generative artificial intelligence has been rapidly changing all different career fields and their workplaces. As technology is now ingrained into everyday life through cell phones, workplaces, home security cameras, tablets, smart TVs, smart watches or even smart glasses, technology and the influence of artificial intelligence will continue to be a tantalizing subject.

Vanya Mann contributed to this article.

Illustration by Anahi Alcala.