Taylor Smith
Artificial intelligence, or AI, as many refer to it, has been taking the world by storm. Simplifying everyday searches, making certain mediums more accessible, and even allowing people to have a good laugh at what they can get AI generators to create for them. If you have spent any time online in the last couple of years, it is likely that you have used an AI generator at least once. As AI continues to grow, so does the likelihood of more people using it, as well as more companies implementing it into their products. Let’s look at Artificial intelligence and how you can learn how to utilize it in an effective and ethical way.
Starting off with the bad, there are many negatives to AI. For example, AI relies heavily on the content of other people’s work. Therefore, most of what an AI program will produce is stolen from the actual creators, and credit/compensation is almost never given to any of those original creators. If asked for a source for artistic or written materials, AI may not give the source at all, or it may make up a source entirely.
AI also has a negative impact on the environment, with most of the AI content produced relying heavily on data centers, which use high amounts of water and energy. These data centers also rely on rare materials that can only be collected through intensive mining production. All of these have already created a severe and potentially long-lasting impact on climate change, water scarcity, and pollution.
After learning about all these negative things, one may ask, “why should I learn about AI in the first place?”. The answer to this is the simple fact that almost all companies are starting to implement the use of AI in some way, shape, or form. Unless you happen to find work at a company that has no online presence, it is likely that you will be expected to understand AI, and how to use it properly and ethically. While they may not work in every instance or every industry, these tips should give you a decent guideline on how to properly use artificial intelligence.
- Do not use AI to complete assignments for you.
Whether you are in school as a student or working at your job. AI should never be used to complete assignments for you. This is because AI relies heavily on the content of others that can be found on the internet. This means that any assignment that is finished with the use of AI would be plagiarism. Further, generative AI tools do not effectively validate information and are known for prioritizing popular content over what is correct.
- Use AI to create steppingstones to help you with assignments
While AI should not be used to complete assignments, this does not mean that AI cannot be used to help you with assignments. AI can be used to help create outlines for papers based on topics or prompts that you give to it. AI can also be used to help users find sources that might be helpful when researching many topics. Both can be used to help students and employees with finishing tasks and still help to make most of the work created be their own.
- Double Check All Content That is Produced by AI
Remember that even when you use AI to help you look for online sources, or interesting facts with sources that many generators can and will make up content and sources to go with that content. It is important for users to cross-reference any content that is produced by AI, to ensure that it helps you to produce truthful and accurate content for those who may be consuming it.
- Refrain from Using AI for Artistic Production
While it may be fun to use AI to create images to fit certain prompts, it is essential to remember that all AI generators rely heavily on the works and content of others. So, while you can reasonably give AI a prompt for a text document to help you get the steppingstones, you may need to complete a task. When it comes to art, you cannot reasonably be able to take anything from that generated image that you can use to create your own without taking anything from the original artists that the generator has taken from.
- Do Not Use AI to Create Images or Photos for Stories and Headlines
AI is often used to create images and photographs that look real at a glance, and that is often used to promote and produce misleading content and can ultimately hurt the trustworthiness of the material you are producing. If you need an image or photograph for an event or topic that you wish to cover but don’t have one for, you are better off staging a photo or creating an illustration instead of using an AI generated image.
There are many other ways that a person can use AI in an ethical manner to create content, write assignments, and help guide your way through completing a multitude of projects. Remember that AI should be used to create steppingstones and never be used as a replacement for researching and creating original content.
