Emerging Technology Issues Essay

Emerging Technology Issues

Identify an emerging technology discussed in the course. What are some of the ethical, social, cultural and/or political issues that are relevant to understanding its design, implementation and/or adoption?

Solution – Emerging Technology Issues Assignment

Emerging Technologies

Artificial intelligence (AI) is an advanced technology that has quickly transformed many sectors due to its growing uses across many sectors. It allows machines to act like human beings, learn and make decisions, and solve problems just like human beings (Safdar et al., 2020). Although AI has been beneficial in various fields, it can also cause ethical, social, cultural, and political issues.

Ethical Issues

One of the most significant issues with AI technologies is bias and discrimination against certain people based on prejudices in the AI training data. Critics argue that AI systems used in surveillance violates rights to privacy and data security because these systems obtain large amounts of personal information (Safdar et al., 2020). Moreover, since AI is autonomous, there are questions related to accountability in cases of systems operated by AI, for example, self-driving cars. People can also use AI technology to create false information, fake images, and spread fake news and disinformation. AI’s impact on the workforce is associated with the fact that it can perform tasks that were done by human beings and can do it in less time, and with greater accuracy, causing job displacement and unemployment.

Social Issues

People are becoming too reliant on technology to interact with and make decisions for them, which has created controversies about human-AI interactions. While communicating with AI, people could be tricked by their chats because it is capable of telling believable stories. There are also worries pertaining to fairness in accessing and using AI because of economic and geographical differences that create a divide between developed countries and developing countries that have minimal technologies. The unequal access to AI will enable developed countries to embrace AI technologies and get a lot of value from them while developing countries are left out.

Cultural Issues

Artists and entrepreneurs have now found ways how to enhance their work with the help of AI and machine learning in order to create more artworks (Kulesz, 2018). This has brought issues about the authenticity of art because instead of using their talent, creative artists opt to use AI, not considering the culture that contributed to their art. When artificial intelligence performs these creative roles, there is a possibility that there will be a lack of cultural representation and aspects of a community’s culture, and this will affect artistic production in the long run.

Political Issues

AI has developed at a very fast pace, therefore posing problems in regulation and governance. The problem with new developments is that it is challenging to come up with frameworks that would guarantee the ethical use of AI while also implementing new regulations for new technologies. AI can also be misused to influence elections through disinformation campaigns, spreading misleading AI-generated information and conspiracy theories. The use of deepfake images and videos to compromise opponents and spread false information during election campaigns is a growing concern in politics (Bontridder & Poullet, 2021).

Conclusion

Artificial intelligence is beneficial to many industries, and with its rapid innovation, it continues to play an important role in shaping the future. However, it also raises concerns about potential misuse, overreliance on AI, biases, and discrimination, giving machines power to make autonomous decisions, and lack of accountability and transparency. These issues need to be addressed to ensure the ethical and responsible development of AI and promote equity in its adoption globally.

References

Bontridder, N., & Poullet, Y. (2021). The role of artificial intelligence in disinformation. Data & Policy, 3, e32.

Kulesz, O. (2018). Culture, platforms and machines: the impact of artificial intelligence on the diversity of cultural expressions. Intergovernmental committee for the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions, 12.

Safdar, N. M., Banja, J. D., & Meltzer, C. C. (2020). Ethical considerations in artificial intelligence. European journal of radiology, 122, 108768.