Aligning AI towards positive societal impact 

In movies of the old, they portrayed and envisioned the future to be a sort of literal silver age - a world of metallic parts, robotic assistants, and computers controlling the day-to-day activities of all living things. An argument can be made that this perception might be half true given the state of technology in the modern era. There are no metallic parts and chrome-plated attires, but it is considered fashionable to some. There are no robots that do the dishes, or mow the lawn, but there are robots that help with production and manufacturing. However, one idea that is somehow close to reality is the use of computers today. This innovation helped in simplifying complex tasks, and made it easy to work, leading towards a more efficient living, which begs the question: are humans replaceable by computers?

Artificial intelligence was developed mainly for the purpose of providing human-like interactions in order to come up with additional insights and solutions given a particular problem. This paved the way for more strategic means of understanding a problem, maximizing potential benefits, and lessening risks while accounting for various factors that could influence the intended outcome. AI changed the landscape to particularly be a solution to everyday problems, and be a beneficial tool to be used in different situations. Companies utilize AI in their social media accounts through bots that could respond to any inquiries. Education is also impacted by AI such that learning is not about chalks and blackboards, but laptops, presentations, and online demonstrations. Students use AI as a means of access to come up with outputs in a short amount of time, giving them more time to work on their other tasks. For the teachers, AI’s benefit lies within the programs that can be run to come up with better presentation designs or even lesson demonstrations that are quite difficult to replicate. In some instances, AI can also be used to evaluate the students through generated quizzes and exams. Social media can pre-program user feeds to align the algorithm of its user base to be more targeted by various ads. These changes and adaptations to such technologies is what makes a lot of us heavily reliant on it.

While there are undoubtedly numerous benefits to using AI, it also imposes particular limitations and challenges down the road. In the early days of ChatGPT’s image generation function, artists all over the world clamored against it as AI is basically stealing the ideas, and meshing it with other inspirations found in the Internet to make it original. This led to questions regarding the ethics behind its usage as the intellectual property of these artists are compromised. The same can be said with the entertainment industry, particularly, the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike which fronted concerns on AI use in scriptwriting, designing, and other elements essential to the film industry. In the academe, students are also led to be lazy and complacent given that the computer is the one working rather than out of their own efforts.

There is still a blurry line between the use and the abuse of AI as of today, and no particular solution has been collectively agreed upon as the one true answer. This does not mean that the path towards better usage of these technologies is not progressing. Such was the idea behind the principles of Human-Centered AI (HCAI), in which humans are the key component in the further development and control of AI. In doing so, the responsibility of using AI to its utmost potential for maximum benefits is highlighted, while also accounting for particular measures of control to avoid any compromise concerning other individuals, institutions, or industries. This should not deter anyone from using AI, rather it should be encouraged but control is also necessary. In any work that is done, the human aspect should never be omitted. Each and every user has their own roles and responsibilities in using and as much as possible, lessen the overuse and abuse of it. 

This topic is among the many points of discussion in the upcoming 12th National Business and Management Conference which will be held on 28-30 November 2024 at the Ateneo de Manila University. The theme “Re-furthering Human Development and Sustainability: Aligning AI, Business, Government, and the Academe Towards Positive Societal Impact,” aims to be the intersection of various segments of society under the ongoing changes relating to technological and environmental aspects towards a thriving and just society.

For more information, visit the 12th NBMC Facebook page at www.facebook.com/nbmcdlsu