AI revolution: Opportunity or challenge?

Today, the reality is that technology is advancing at an astonishing rate, as artificial intelligence (AI) has completely transformed many processes that we have become accustomed to performing automatically. There was a time when we believed that the creative side of humans was irreplaceable, because that is what truly sets humans apart from machines. Is that still true?

Some argue that artificial intelligence will destroy job opportunities, while others praise AI as a tool for humans to reach new heights. So which opinion is correct?

What is AI?

Artificial intelligence, or AI, has made the leap from the realm of science fiction to reality. However, how exactly does it work?

AI uses a combination of formulas and algorithms to build a machine that mimics human abilities (sometimes even surpasses them). It's hard to believe, but AI is present in almost every moment of our lives. Some examples of devices that use AI are facial recognition on smartphones and virtual assistants like Alexa.

If we look at it realistically, human cognitive processes do not govern AI. That's what makes it so effective at performing complex mechanical tasks, while it can fail at more abstract tasks. That holds true today.

Image and text generators: The death of creativity

Smartphones, tablets and PCs have become everyday tools, with a role similar to a canvas or paintbrush in real life. Today, digital art clearly dominates the creative mediums thanks to its diverse benefits, for example, better, faster results and improved flexibility. It is not simply that the visual arts have gained from the leap into the digital realm. Other tasks also become impossible using a computer, such as video editing, writing, or photography.

No matter how you look at it, AI has been present in our lives for the past decade or so, albeit in a supporting role. It makes everyday life easier in many ways, even if we are not aware of it. However, AI is no longer satisfied with just playing a supporting role, but is aiming to take a leading position in human life. If you join the Knowledge Engineering Institute, AI has proven that it is capable of writing its own Don Quixote.

There are other equally powerful platforms in the imaging industry, such as DALL-E, Stable-Diffussion, and Midjourney. With just a text description or prompt about what you want the image to look like, the virtual machine takes care of the rest for you. Although many results are accurate or perfect, they are an indication of what will happen in the future.

We tend to transform the reality around us with our experiences and senses. AI performs the same task through mathematics. The input data serves that function, condensing the best representation of the image as if it were an equation to create something entirely new.

Data sources for AI

This act of converting concepts and ideas into tangible objects is an activity that requires prior documentation. While creating something new from nothing is an appealing idea, it is generally not the case. The environment nurtures your mind and imagination, and many references lie within your own creativity, even if unintentional. AI works the same way, or at least similarly.

AI uses huge banks of data to learn, called machine learning. Just like an artist, artificial intelligence uses references from data provided online, using it to create images, text, and videos. Meta is developing AI to create videos as we talk.

However, there is an ethical discussion about these so-called data banks. Many artists are now seeing much of their work being used illegally in an effort to train these AI platforms.

Add to that the fact that artificial intelligence is getting better and better at creating enhanced images. Artists like David Rubin or Jon Juarez are examples of people who clearly express their opposition to this topic.

However, there are still some people who support AI. Some creators see AI as another tool that can improve artistic creativity. However, we still hear opinions that digital art is not true art or that using autotune does not mean you can sing?

Whether we want to admit it or not, AI exists. However, it is also true that AI needs to comply with laws related to intellectual property. We need better regulation of AI if we want to live harmoniously with it in the future.

Kareem Winters

Update 29 November 2023