The Kids Fear AI

Clothesline by Mark Tennant

In the last two weeks, I have seen clips floating around of approximately three separate commencement speakers at universities receiving mass booing and backlash for praising the merits of AI. Each of these speakers highlights the glorious new heights this technology will supposedly bring us to, and insists that young people stop living in fear of new technology and hurry up to board the train, so as not to miss it. Each of them has been cut off midsentence by verbal disagreement. 

I am not saying that it is right or respectful to boo a speaker, but I do think that this trend reveals truthful opinions about the state of the nation and the development of AI technologies. 

"AM, whom we created because our time was badly spent and we must have known unconsciously that he could do it better." -Ellison's I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream

AI has been marketed as the "next big thing." The technology that will cure cancer, end restrictive corporate jobs, and bring humanity to the next evolutionary height by accomplishing all the things we cannot do independently. It will eradicate the need for maids and construction workers, and will give us time to do art instead of laundry. 

"And so, with the innate loathing that all machines had always held for the weak, soft creatures who had built them, he had sought revenge." -Ellison's I Have No Mouth & I Must Scream

Thus far, that visionary ambition has not taken place in reality. Currently, the consequences of AI development include a thinning of the virtual fabric of reality as we can no longer tell what is real, a decrease in the quality of life of those living next to new data centers as their access to water becomes limited, and a shearing of the job market as mass layoffs increase and people find themselves replaced by a machine. 

If any population has a right to fear the technological developments of AI, it is Gen Z. Students have spent thousands of dollars and dozens of years on an education that they were told they needed in order to gain access to a steady, reliable job, only to watch the job market be diminished practically overnight. Already, Gen Z has been shown to have limited ability and access to the job and housing markets. These students fear the very real possibility that AI's prevalence in the zeitgeist will make it even harder than before for Gen Z to find jobs, and therefore make it even harder than before for Gen Z to own homes. They fear the real possibility that, for an indeterminable purpose and motivation, new technologies will pirate their lives' purposes. 

The commencement speakers recognize this fear, and they suggest that the solution to it is simply boarding the train and taking advantage of AI while it is still in accessible developmental stages. To get a foot in the door before it is too late, and hope that you still have a grip when the ship takes off. It's the same pressure that was used when the COVID-19 vaccine came out, which waved away concerns about the lack of testing done on the vaccine in favor of pushing people to adopt new technologies or, essentially, die. The push to either conform or be left behind. 

"You'll have to change your life. Like too many others, you've built it around creature comforts." -Bradbury's The Veldt

I think lots of people make lots of poor decisions when motivated by fear. We should do our research, form opinions, and stick by them in order to preserve moral integrity. Thus, I think there is another option for students. At this point, AI is still a very new technology with limited development. Most AI startups are not seeing financial return yet, nor are the AI resources being implemented in corporate settings showing increased profit margins. I am not suggesting that one should or could intentionally bankrupt an entire industry, but I am saying that in America, we have the gift of voting with our dollar. In a capitalist market, people will see increases in products that receive positive reactions from consumers. Thus, the more people use AI, the more it will continue to be developed and pushed for. Yet when consumers make the choice to avoid it, we are telling developers what we want and do not want. Those who fear or dislike AI, regardless of reason, should simply refuse to use it. They should search the internet using the -ai search modification. They should skip AI-generated content while scrolling. They should find alternatives to products and companies that advocate for AI. If you don't like AI, you must hold yourself to the accountable standard of refusing AI. 

This is not a foolproof scheme to topple a big tech industry. It is, however, the reality of how the American economic and political systems work. If you don't like something and want to see real change, you must have the moral integrity to support what is right and denounce what is wrong. If enough people agree with you, real change will happen. 

A few days ago, Meta asked if I would be so kind as to take a two-minute survey. In it, they asked my opinions on new AI developments, Meta glasses, and whether I thought Meta cared about their consumers. I told them my honest opinion. Will Mark Zuckerberg be morally swayed by my individual Likert scale response? Probably not. But by inserting my opinion and voting with my dollar and my time, I am one voice adding to a growing wave of voices. Consumers cannot independently change the world, but they do have the power to stand by their opinions and collaboratively make a difference.