Let's talk about AI: #1 The yin and yang of AI

Welcome to the first part of our series on artificial intelligence. Across these articles I want to look at what AI is, where it helps and where it hurts, and how I use it myself as an analyst and technical writer in IT. This first part is about how I see the role of AI in our world.

AI has changed fast in the last few years and reshaped both our daily lives and our work. No surprise, then, that it has become a hot topic for researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders. That speed also brought ethical, social, and economic dilemmas that we have to look at carefully and solve. So in this article I want to walk through the hard questions AI raises, why they matter, and how we can start answering them.

Have you ever pictured walking into your doctor's office and getting the best possible care because the latest AI sits right there to help? It already happens. Doctors run preventive tests, upload the data to a computer, and an AI model uses machine learning to produce a diagnosis with a given probability. It sounds like science fiction, but this is where we are right now.

AI is changing healthcare by making early diagnosis and personalized treatment possible, which improves patient outcomes. Take the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, which uses AI to help doctors spot heart disease earlier. The clinic runs an AI system called Eko that analyzes heart sounds and flags abnormalities that may point to heart disease. Catching it early lets doctors start treatment sooner and gives patients a better chance. In Sweden, the Karolinska University Hospital uses AI to analyze medical images and improve the accuracy of breast cancer diagnosis. With AI, doctors reach more accurate diagnoses, which leads to better treatment plans and better care overall.

Beyond healthcare, AI is changing education with personalized learning that fits each student. Adaptive learning systems built on AI help students learn faster and better by serving content that matches how they learn. The systems adapt as the student progresses, so the instruction stays as relevant and effective as possible.

AI also plays a key role in tech. It helps us detect and prevent fraud and cyber attacks, which keeps our data safer. Companies can watch huge amounts of data in real time, spot anomalies, and act fast before a breach happens. As cyber threats get more sophisticated, these defenses matter more and more for protecting our digital assets.

So AI helps us in many ways. It is reshaping healthcare through early diagnosis and personalized treatment. Systems like Eko help doctors catch heart disease sooner, and AI improves breast cancer diagnosis by analyzing medical images. In education, adaptive learning tailors instruction to each student and speeds up learning. And in tech, AI detects and prevents fraud and cyber attacks and protects our digital assets. As the technology keeps improving, expect even more gains across more fields.

AI promises real benefits across our lives, but we have to weigh the downside too. One of the biggest worries is job loss. As machines get smarter and more capable, they can replace human workers in more and more industries, which could lead to widespread job loss and economic disruption.

It is a complex issue. Saying machines can fully replace people is a bold claim, yet AI and automation already disrupt some industries and displace jobs. The flip side is that this also creates new jobs and opportunities elsewhere, and it falls to us as a society to manage the shift and soften the damage.

My biggest worry about AI is security. AI systems can be hacked or attacked, which can lead to stolen sensitive information or disrupted critical infrastructure. The fallout hits both people and organizations hard, from financial loss to lost privacy.

I worry about what happens when AI gets used for cyber attacks and warfare. It is alarming to imagine targeted attacks on critical infrastructure like power grids and transport systems.

I also worry about misuse of personal data, because AI systems collect more and more information about each of us. We have to take the privacy side of that collection seriously. And AI in policing, as in China's use of AI to control its citizens [3], raises real questions about government surveillance.

As AI works its way deeper into our lives, there is a risk that we lean on it too much and lose skills and knowledge along the way. We already rely on GPS, for example, to the point where many of us would struggle to navigate with a map and compass. That becomes a problem the moment the technology fails or is not available.

More and more American classrooms are banning language models like ChatGPT [4], mostly because some students use them to cheat. That is a shame, because these tools can help students write better and make learning more fun. They can give feedback on grammar, syntax, and vocabulary, and create interactive experiences through chatbots and virtual assistants.

Teachers and administrators do have fair concerns about AI in the classroom. They worry about privacy, security, and algorithmic bias. It is worth weighing the pros and cons before bringing these tools in. Cheating is a real risk, since a student can use ChatGPT to finish an assignment without understanding the material. That gives an unfair advantage and devalues their education.[4]

We cannot hold AI off forever. Big companies like Cognigy [5] and Microsoft [6] already pour serious money into building GPT-like technology into their products [7].

There are still good reasons not to overuse AI. We do not want to ban it outright, but we do need to learn the benefits and the drawbacks of these tools.

So how do we get the most out of AI while staying aware of its risks? That is a hard question and it deserves serious thought. We need to stay informed and stay willing to adapt as we learn more.

Before we wrap up, here is the fun part. In the next article I will share my favorite AI tools from the IT world. There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to using AI. The point is to balance the benefits against the risks and drawbacks, stay informed, and keep up with what is new. That pays off for all of us in the long run, whether we work in IT or not. So stay tuned for my top picks.

You might also be interested in: