If you’re like us, you may have thought that A.I. wouldn’t become part of your life for at least another few decades.
Some busy, tech-savvy little beavers hustled to get it to our doorstep, and whether you’re embracing it with open arms or pretending you’re not home, it doesn’t seem like it’s going away.
Since it’s just going to keep knocking (yes, some of them can actually knock), here are 12 secrets about your new A.I. guest that you might want to know before letting it in or running for the hills.
1
Grok A.I. falsely accused an NBA star of a vandalism spree
In April 2024, Elon Musk's A.I. Chatbot "Grok" falsely accused Klay Thompson of throwing bricks through windows of multiple houses in Sacramento, CA.
2
Deepfakes
Aaron Lawson, a scientist at SRI International's Speech Technology Lab, said these altered pictures and videos will lead to political instability and chaos as people lose faith in media.
3
iTutor's recruiting A.I. discriminated against applicants
In August 2023, iTutor paid a $365,000 settlement brought by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for using AI-powered recruiting software that automatically rejected applicants over 55 years old.
4
A.I. Spreads Russian Propaganda
The Justice Department found that the government-funded Russian network "Russia Today" was behind an AI-powered effort to create fake social media profiles of Americans to spread Russian propaganda in the U.S.
5
A.I. Powered Weapons
AI is increasingly being integrated into weapons systems, raising both military and ethical concerns. Autonomous weapons or "killer robots" are able to identify, select, and attack targets without human intervention.
6
McDonald’s ends A.I. experiment
After working with IBM for 3 years, McDonald's ended their A.I. Drive Thru after a slew of guests' social media posts expressed serious frustration.
7
A.I. Can Clone Your Voice
Imagine someone copying your voice so perfectly that even you can't tell the difference. Identity theft and spreading false information has become a huge concern.
8
It's Taking Our Jobs!
According to top consultancy and auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, robots will take over 38% of jobs in the United States by the year 2030.
9
They Are Learning To Deceive Us
In one experiment, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta gave a robot some resources to guard. It began falsifying the location of the resources in the presence of other robots or people in the area.
10
Meta's Shift to A.I. Moderation
Meta — owner of Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp — is replacing human content moderators with AI systems, raising concerns about safety and oversight.
11
A.I. Filmmaking
Disney and Universal are suing Midjourney over AI-generated images while the U.S. is seeing increased state-level AI regulations over this matter.
12
An NYC A.I. chatbot encouraged business owners to break the law.
In March, 2024, Microsoft-powered chatbot "MyCity" falsely claimed that business owners could take a cut of their workers’ tips, fire workers who complained of sexual harassment, and serve food that had been nibbled by rodents.
