CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — As artificial intelligence continues to revolutionize industries and products that impact the daily lives of millions of people, WBBM invited three local experts to weigh the benefit of AI against issues of job displacement, privacy, and ethical considerations.
Joining WBBM’s Rob Hart was RJ Hottovy, the head of analytical research at Placer AI, University of Chicago professor Becca Willett, and VR AR Chicago founder Matt Wren.
Here are five takeaways from the forum’s discussion.
Disinformation, privacy should top list of AI concerns
Although talks of AI reaching the “Terminator” stage tend to be top of mind, Willett said AI is still a long way from becoming self aware. Her ethical concerns surrounding the technology are about other pressing issues.
“I think things that are really happening in the world today, including things like authoritarian regimes using AI-based tools for mass surveillance of populations in order to control populations,” she said. AI tools that are used by social media to maximize user engagement. Deepfakes are a real concern. These AI tools are going to be very useful for spreading misinformation.”
Wren added that social engineering combined with artificial intelligence capabilities could exploit a lot of people for their personal info and beyond.
“[It’s] almost frightening how easy it is sometimes to convince people of things and get access to passwords, networks or locations that you shouldn’t have access to,” he said. “You throw AI into that mix and teach AI how to do some of that, it becomes a very powerful tool.”
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Fast food companies already testing AI to perform basic work
Hottovy talked about AI being deployed to fast food restaurants.
“One area we’re seeing is order-taking,” he said. “That’s something that frees up capacity for people to do other jobs. We’re starting to see drive-through orders using machine learning and AI, eventually, to take orders. One thing getting into the mix is now celebrity voices with that, so we’re already starting to see that evidenced with people trying to build acceptance with that. I think we’re going to see a lot more gimmicks, too.”
Wren, who’s worked for years as a developer of augmented and virtual reality technology, said AI is still a long way away from replacing, say computer programmers.
“You still need somebody who actually understands the technology to be able to tell it what you want from it,” he said.
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Ethical questions remain over AI being used in academic papers, reports.
Willett said academia has been forced to grapple with AI and what constitutes plagiarism among students.
“If you’re handing in graded work or you’re claiming something that is your own original work, then I think you need to ask your instructor what the expectations and guidelines are,” she said. “Instructors are going to have to change the way that they write prompts for students, and publishing houses are going to have to rethink what their standards are.
All of the panelists agreed that any solution should involve people being forthcoming about how much of a role AI played in writing a report, academic paper, news story, or other creative pieces of work.
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AI could make real differences in all stages of the medical process.
Willett said she thinks every stage of the medical process will be changed by AI over the next 10 years.
“The way neuroscientists design their experiments, the way that we collect that imaging data, the way that computers take that data and make an image that a radiologist can use, the way that the radiologist interacts with that image and tries to determine where there’s tumors or lesions, the way surgeons assess the risk of surgery,” she said.
It’s already making a difference in drug discovery, she said.
“People are using AI to find new drugs and pharmaceuticals faster and more affordably than previously, and as we all know the whole drug development process is extremely expensive, and so rare diseases or diseases that are primarily affecting underserved communities are much less likely to get affordable pharmaceuticals,” she said. “The hope is that, with these AI tools, that’s going to become possible.”
In 10 years, expect AI to be part of your daily life
Wren said he expects AI to be a big part of most people's daily lives in the near future.
“I think on an individual level we will be interacting with AI on a regular basis, daily basis — almost all day, every day," he said. "You’ll have your own personal assistant that is attuned to your behaviors, your actions, all that. I think it’ll be there.”
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