andWhatitMeansforSociety
ByDelaneyCrockett
AsIconsidertheuseofartificialintelligence(AI),Iamstruckbythememoriesofthe moviesIwatchedasakid,like The Terminator, I, Robot,and The Matrix. Irecallhow destructiveandviolentAIhasbeenportrayedinsci-fimoviesandbooks.WhenwhatIknewas fictionbecamereality,Iwasconcerned.Whywouldsomeoneinventsomethingthatwasonly knowntobedestructive?ThemoreAIhasprogressed,themoreuneasyIhavebecome.
Overtheyears,AIhashadquiteanevolution.AIcanfirstbeattributedtoTheseus,a roboticmouseabletonavigateamaze,madein19501.Thesoftwarehasgrownanddeveloped overtheyears,butitgottrulydangerousin2020whenheadlinesfirstbegantocomeoutabout AIbeingatanintelligencelevelhigherthanhumans.Now,everywhereIturn,Iseetheimpacts ofAIonmydailylife,aswellasthelivesofothers.Iwatchedasmyteachersusedittodevelop questionsforclasses,andmyclassmatesusedittoanswerthosesamequestions.Iseeitnow whenlookingupthehistoryofAIandbeinggivenaquicksummarybyGoogle’snewAIsystem. AIartbegantoadvanceandbeperfected,beingusedasareplacementformanyartists,suchas myself.IwasinsultedwhenmyschoolusedAItoreworkthedesignIhadcreatedforour
1 https://ourworldindata.org/brief-history-of-ai
school’sNAHSclublogo,anhonorssocietydedicatedtothecreationandcelebrationofartand artists.Thejokewritesitself.Inowreflectonthemovie WALL-E, andhowinthefilmhumanity eventuallysuccumbedtoAI,losingwhattrulymakesushuman-ourcreativity
NotonlydoesAIlimitcreativity,butitisalsoterribleforourworld.AIusesan astonishingamountofelectricitytorun,leadingtoanincreaseincarbondioxideemissionsand greenhousegases2.Alongsidethis,waterisneededtocooldownthemachinery,puttingstresson thewatersupplyanddisturbingecosystems.Theearthisn’tjustourplanet;itisourhome.We shouldn’ttradeourhomeforsomethingsosimpleasAI.
AIisalsoathreattomanyindustries,especiallyinthearts.Itouchedonmyownexperiencewith AIandart,butmanyotherscansaythesame.In2023,boththeWritersGuildofAmericaand SAG-AFTRAunionswentonstrike34.AIisalargethreattotheseindustriesasmanylarge corporationshavebeguntoyingwiththeideaofimplementingAIintothetvandmovieindustry.
Recently,itwasrevealedthatinthefinalseasonofthehitNetflixseries Stranger Things,AIwas usedinwritingthescripts5 Beforethisnewsbroke,theseasonwascriticizedforitsrepetitive and“cringy”dialogue,aswellasbasicstorylines,ultimatelyshowcasingthatAIisnotyetata placewhereitcanreplacehumancreativity.DisneyhasalsobegunembracingAItechnology withtheir$1billioninvestmentintoOpenAIandalicensingdealforfanstogeneratetheirown
2 https://news.mit.edu/2025/explained-generative-ai-environmental-impact-0117
3https://news.law.fordham.edu/jcfl/2023/10/25/writers-guild-of-america-wga-strike-resolution-airestrictions-and-implications/#:~:text=After%20five%20months%20of%20intense,under%20a% 20plethora%20of%20restrictions
5 https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/duffer-brothers-chatgpt-ai-stranger-things 4 https://cdt.org/insights/the-sag-aftra-strike-is-over-but-the-ai-fight-in-hollywood-is-just-beginnin g/#:~:text=The%20Screen%20Actors%20Guild%2DAmerican%20Federation%20of%20Televisi on,day%20performer%20rate%20*%20**Independently%20created%20replicas**
clipsinvolvingiconicDisneycartooncharacters6.However,Disneyhasforgottenovertheyears thatwhatmakestheirfilmssobeautifulisthecraftandhardworkputintothem.Artthroughout historyhasalwaysbeenaskilltobelearnedandperfectedbyhumans,butAIartismerelyan imitationofthat.
Despiteallofthis,IrecognizethatAIcanbeapositivetool.Ithasproventobebeneficialin areaslikehealthcare,science,economics,agriculture,andcybersecurity.Iamespeciallyhopeful thatonedayAImayevenbeabletohelpmybrother,whosuffersfromautismandepilepsy.If weuseiteffectively,AIcanrevolutionizethefuturefortheadvancementofoursociety.
Withthisinmind,IbelievethathumanityshouldbeusingAIasan“assistive”intelligenceto support,notreplace,humanthoughtandcreativity.Ashumans,weareconstantlyevolvingand changing.InanAIworld,wedon’tlearnthenecessaryskillstothinkcriticallyandcreatively. Instead,wechoosetheeasywayout,makingmachinerysmarterandnotourselves.Itisalmosta switch-humanswillendupactingmoreroboticandunlikelytohavemeaningfulinteractionsand thoughts,whiletheAIgrowsanddevelopsadeeperlevelofthinking.ByusingAIinawaythat onlyhelpsinsteadofreplacingthehumanrace,wewillstillbetheonesgrowinganddeveloping inthefuture.AIcanbeourfriendandnotafoe;wejustneedtouseitcorrectly.
6 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/disney-and-openai-signal-the-arrival-of-ai-video-stre aming/