Should You Be Worried About AI?

Worried about Artificial Intelligence? Scared it’ll change everything you thought you knew about the world before you learn how to write basic prompts? Don’t worry, you aren’t the only one. 

Every time a big advancement in technology comes around, there are always new concerns that arise from it. It makes sense because current regulations can’t account for something that doesn’t exist yet!  

We did a study and found that the top concerns for young people around AI are misinformation, job security, privacy, and deep fakes. So, we broke each concern down to find out whether these are things we should be worried about, or whether everything is going to be okay, and if some of these concerns could actually lead to positive change.  

Misinformation
 

Worried we’re going to go into an endless loop of misinformation because someone spreads something that was generated by AI? Fear not, because AI is advancing to fact-check information better, and not only that, social media platforms are working to flag posts that include misinformation and remove posts with misinformation that could cause physical harm.  

But this is kinda on all of us too. Channel your inner journo and suss out whether the info just fed to you is true. The internet is full of reliable sources, and is in the palm of your hands, so sorting right from wrong should be a breeze! 

Jobs
 

One of the biggest concerns about the rise of AI is the impact it will have on jobs. AI will inevitably change how many jobs are done.  It will help automate many roles, with some studies1 suggesting that up to 60% of jobs will be impacted by AI. But just like the internet transformed industry and society, AI will lead to the creation of many new types of businesses and jobs.  

In fact, the rise of AI could potentially be a good thing for a lot of workers. Some of the more autonomous, boring aspects of people’s jobs will be made easier by AI, meaning workers will have more time to spend doing the more enjoyable aspects of their jobs. And with increased productivity, it’s not out of the question that this could lead to 4-day work weeks for a lot of employees.  

Privacy
 

AI and machine learning rely on collecting massive amounts of information to develop algorithms and results. Naturally, people are worried about how much of their info is being captured, and what happens to it when it does.  

In Australia, our main law that covers privacy (1988 Privacy Act) doesn’t directly regulate AI, but it can still apply if AI has access to “personal information.” This means the AI system is legally only allowed to use that information for the purpose it was collected for, or for another purpose that the person the data is about would reasonably expect. Put simply, AI isn’t allowed to use any personal information given for any purpose other than the purpose you supplied it for.  

Deepfakes
 

If you’ve been on TikTok once in the last year and a half, you would’ve seen at least one video of someone playing a video game (most likely jumping across Minecraft blocks or cars doing stunt jumps) with audio of a celebrity or political figure, saying something rogue. Or maybe you’ve seen the video Deepfakes, like Taylor Swift Promoting Le Creuset Cookware.  

Whether it’s video or audio, there are ways to tell when content is AI-generated, for example, AI doesn’t know how to draw a hand without giving it six fingers. Plus, there are free and readily available apps to check whether something is AI or real, which will only get more accurate as we learn more about AI technology. 

What’s more concerning, is the rise of cyber criminals using AI voices for vishing (voice phishing). They use AI to mimic the voice of someone you know and trust to ask for something compromising, whether that’s personal information, passwords etc. So if you get a voice message from someone you know asking for passwords or money, call them or check with them in person to make sure it was actually them. 
 

Change is unnerving. Whether it’s a new job, a new city, a new relationship or big advancements in technology. But change can also lead to amazing things if you embrace it. Naturally, there are concerns about the way AI is being regulated, but there are existing policies and new laws in the works to make sure AI doesn’t get out of hand. So, while having a bit of caution and using your own judgement is healthy, you can let yourself get keen for the positives that will come from AI.