What is AI?

AI is a computer system or machine that has some of the qualities that a human brain has (Cambridge Dictionary).

AI is short for ‘artificial intelligence’ and it is already woven into so much of what we do every day. Whether through using social media, online banking, smart speakers etc., you may be using AI without even realising it. As the fastest growing technology in the world, AI is constantly evolving, and people should understand the basics to keep themselves safe and feel confident using it.  

AI is not a single technology but a catch-all term which includes a range of tools and methods which mimics human thinking. AI has been around in basic form since the 1950s but it has developed at rapid speed these last few years. AI uses something called large language models to ‘scrape’ all kinds of data and information from the internet to generate a range of products.  

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Generative AI

While there are many types of AI, generative AI is becoming more mainstream in our everyday lives. Generative AI are systems that can produce new text, images or other media based on prompts or commands from the user. This is different from descriptive AI which focuses on improving access to content such as text, images, audio and video by spotting features in them which enhances searching.  

For example, you may have heard of, or even used ChatGPT, where you can interact in a conversational way to produce text-based content. You are likely to have also seen examples of pictures/art which have been created using AI, such as those made with Microsoft’s image generator. These are both common forms of generative AI.  

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Positives and negatives of AI

Like most technology, AI comes with positives and drawbacks and it’s helpful to understand the opportunities as well as its limitations:  

Positives:

• Enabling people: AI can be used by disabled people to help them undertake tasks such as using AI-powered speech recognition software to turn lights on or off
• Efficiency: AI can be used to process large amounts of data in a timeframe simply not possible for humans. If you need to analyse data quickly and identify patterns, AI can help with this to a high degree of accuracy.
• Decision-making: humans can be held back in making decisions through doubt or a lack of confidence, but AI can help people overcome these barriers by providing clear suggestions based on the information given.  
• Healthcare: AI is helping to supercharge healthcare to fast-track patient diagnoses. AI-powered technologies are being developed to help detect dementia earlier and predict heart attack risks.  
• Climate change: researchers are using AI to predict floods, storms and other weather-related challenges. With better data at their fingertips, decision makers can be proactive in protecting communities from extreme weather incidents.  

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Drawbacks:

• Environment: AI has a significant impact on the environment and AI servers are large consumers of water, which is becoming scarce. They rely on minerals and rare elements, which are often mined unsustainably, and they use massive amounts of electricity, all of which contributes to climate change.  
• Not truly smart: unfortunately, AI doesn’t produce independent or new thinking in the ways a human would. It is built on the work, ideas and even prejudices of millions of people so we all should be mindful of this. AI doesn’t always understand sarcasm or irony.  
• Misleading or harmful content: while organisations which own AI products are working to try and eliminate misleading or harmful content it can slip through and cause distress. For example, the Government is keen for citizens to understand the issue of ‘deep fakes’ where people’s likenesses and voices can be convincingly replicated.
• Copywrite and plagiarism: generative AI can cross over into plagiarism and many students have been caught out with this in their essays. Likewise, generative AI has been known to use elements of other people’s work trying to produce a product.  
• Artistic impact: image based generative AI can affect the livelihoods of artists who are working to make a living with their work and produce something authentic. Be mindful that AI art can be poorly executed and create strange looking human figures.  

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