Generative AI is killing creativity

Technology is a double edged sword in todays society. It's extremely helpful, and without it we simply wouldn't be living as we are today. On the other hand, it is also extremely detrimental, finicky, and we still don't truly understand the full picture when it comes to machines and the progressive inventions that the world is given.

Artificial Intelligence has been around for a long time. The concept of a machine with the capability to think, and act by itself without the aid of other humans has existed for decades. Computers are everywhere nowadays but in the 1900's the earliest computer was extremely bulky and not much could be done with it. That all changed in World War Two with not only the Enigma Machine- the Germans communications device for sending encoded messages- but also the allied forces combined efforts to create a computing device capable of translating those messages. Since then not only have countless programmers developed groundbreaking codes to create games and apps, they have also evolved far enough to develop the "next big thing". Generative AI.

There have been countless science fiction stories that will tell you that AI is very dangerous and leads to destruction and death. For example, Terminator- Where the program Skynet comes online and immediately causes a machine uprising resulting in a nuclear war which kills most of humanity. There is also the famous story I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, which involves an artificial computer gaining sentience, and immediately gains a hatred for humanity since it knows it was only created to be a tool. There are also many of episodes of Star Trek that cover issues about AI in the form of the character Data- an android. Despite being not human however, Data's ultimate goal is to understand human nature and emotions, even though he lacks the ability to do so. This already sets him apart from the frightening and possibly world ending generative AI.

I should preface this by saying that naturally not all AI is terrible. Many video games use AI code to make NPC's move around and for their behavioural patterns. That type of AI is perfectly fine, since it doesn't hurt anyone environmentally or physically. With the creation of OpenAI all the way back in 2015- the proverbial pandoras box was opened, and life was never quite the same again. Starting with small apps like chatgpt- an AI that you could ask questions to, or get them to type out messages for you to send without you personally thinking about it. At first, sure it was pretty revolutionary technology. Then, slowly but surely it changed from being a semi cool use of technology that could be helpful for people who suffer from social anxiety- to a beast that would suck not only the soul out of art as a whole- but be ruining the entire planet as it does so.

It's well known now that OpenAI relies heavily on massive data centers in order to run their products. This makes sense, since a technology that is constantly adapting would need access to a lot of data- but its been proven that these centers take up millions of galleons of water simply to ensure that the programs don't overheat. Considering the planet itself is mostly made of water, this is a concerning issue that the founders and tech dude bros don't seem to care a lot about. Sure, money is important, thats just how life works and theres not much to be done about it as it stands. But life shouldn't be solely about money, because if it is, then whats the damn point of it all? Not only is the whole aspect of generative AI damaging the planet- it is also ruining the brains of those who use it- frequently.

What scares me the most is that AI is capable of giving people who are mentally unwell the capacity to do terrible things. There are actually multiple cases of people performing shootings because an AI chatbot "hypothetically" ran through what they would do in that situation. And because there are so many people who rely on it, asking generative AI to give them answers instead of looking them up elsewhere or attempting to use critical thinking, people don't activate certain parts of their brain, and they literally start lacking the ability to think critically. I personally know people who use AI like this, and it is frightening to think about how many people are willing to let themselves devolve into a state of complicity when it comes to not only the world, but basic intelligence and reliability.

I do want to be clear that again, not all AI is evil, and many coding programs are in fact quite useful. even CGI- computer generated imaging is used to make films and stories that would be otherwise impossible to create in reality. What worries me most is the state that people are in during the 21'st century in regards to generative AI, and the damages that it is causing to the world. It's unlikely that generative AI will go away anytime soon, but hopefully with a little pushback, more people will wake up from the metaphorical matrix, and find themselves attempting to go back to an age where people weren't fully dependent on what a machine says to them anymore.