I hate generative artificial intelligence (AI). It is the most dangerous piece of modern technology to be created by humans. I know people say that hate is a strong word, but I actually feel like the word “hate” is not strong enough to describe how I feel. I could rattle off synonyms for days, but none of them would ever be able to completely describe the anger that fills me when I think of AI. The worst part is, it seems like not enough people think it is that big of a deal. I know some people who are annoyed by it but reluctantly use it for a recipe or some other thing, like deciding what tile they should use in their new bathroom renovation. The introduction of AI into our society has vitiated us in a plethora of ways—and we must resist using it—or else we will spell out the end of the human race as a whole.
Generative AI has only been available to the public for about four years now, and it has ruined everything. Writing? There is a chatbot for that. Drawing and making art? There is a chatbot for that. Imagining scenarios of your favorite fictional characters before you go to sleep? There is a chatbot for that. Almost everything that requires any ounce of creativity can now be generated by AI with a simple prompt from us. The most insulting part—at least for me, as an artist— is that this algorithm did not come up with what users prompt it for out of thin air. It stole the pieces of the art from a real, breathing, human. Their intellectual property was ripped from their hands and input into a chatbot so that it could produce a fake picture of a dog riding a skateboard. It seems to be rare to know how to create without any input from a robot anymore. Many people are relying more on AI to the point they can’t write an essay or even an email without asking AI for its unnatural input. Our adjustment to asking an algorithm for its rotten input is damaging our brains.
AI is slowly removing our spark of creativity and also contributing to the already low literacy rate. The longer the screen time of a child or infant, the lower the reading volume as they get older, and the increasing prevalence and normalization of AI use is making this statistic more depressing. Ever since I was a kid, I have loved to draw and write, even if it is ugly at first. But, with practice, I have gotten better. There is no AI that could recreate the hard work and time that it took me to be able to get here in my art journey. If getting rid of our creativity were the only vile thing AI has done, it would still be terrible, but it has also hurt everything that makes us human.
So many people are turning to AI for connection, whether that be romantic or platonic. It has even gotten to the point where people are “dating” different AIs. People are not seeking out connection with real humans anymore and are isolating in their homes to talk to a bot, which is contributing to the loneliness epidemic and terrible mental health rates. It is terribly sad, especially when it gets to the point of addiction, but I can not help but feel angry at these people. I feel sympathy for them, but when people know better, they do better. And someone using AI to have a fake girlfriend does not just hurt them, it is hurting all of us.
AI data centers are using an incomprehensible amount of energy, and the data centers are being built in poor and rural communities. They are spreading like an oil spill. They are also drinking all our water, taking our resources and killing animals—like our polar bears. The carbon emissions on the planet are off the charts, and us gas-guzzling humans do not need help making that worse. We are already running out of water at an alarming rate, with overpopulation and the wasting of fresh water too. Why do we need to give so much of it to soulless machines so that grandma can see what she would look like in the ’80s, which she was alive during!
Something that crushes me is that AI has a kill count. Yes, you read that right. There are many horrific cases of AI contributing to someone either hurting themselves or someone else. When struggling high school student Adam Raine confided in ChatGPT about his suicidal thoughts, the chatbot offered to help him write his note and discouraged him from asking for help. There was another case of a man who was in psychosis and talked to ChatGPT about his paranoia, saying that his mom—who he lived with due to his mental health issues—was trying to kill him. With influence from AI, he and his mom were both found dead in their house. The use of chatbots has been linked to many other suicides and mental health hospitalizations.
I know that the people in charge of the AI companies—and more broadly our society—have their hands too slick with oil and blood to let go of this god forsaken hellish technology. I know I cannot stop everyone from using it, but I can share what I know and hope someone out there reads this and is filled with as much anger as I am. People say that AI is coming and is staying regardless of whether we like it or not, but we can stop this. Our first step is to quit using it for good. I know creativity takes work, but that is what we have brains for. We should take responsibility for this, but we also need to be brave to stop the leaders of our world who are encouraging this in the first place. The people in power might lead us to the water, but we do not have to drink from it—if there is any water left after AI takes it all.