We live in a world of constant motion. Significant social and political changes swirl like ocean riptides, and fighting against them may be just as exhausting, deadly, and fruitless as struggling against an undertow. For me, sports offer a tiny sandbar to plant my feet and catch my breath as I ignore all its confusing changes, and the larger ones as well.
Sometimes, a vague idea circling my brain is clarified in a sports moment. During a recent, random Red Sox radio broadcast, an announcer embarked on some amiable filler to liven up a dead spot in the game. A Red Sox hitter had recently blasted a home run 434 feet, as measured by a computer program. But the distance was mysteriously reduced to 418 after another player launched a 431-footer two days later. The announcer acted playfully puzzled and stated, “I don’t know who to believe any more.”
I think it’s a statement that could be sincerely repeated by nearly every American today and applies to almost every area of our lives. One of the primary culprits in this society rending trend is the pervasive influence of artificial intelligence (AI). I recognize the enormous benefits it offers, and use AI often as a shorter version of Wikipedia: a starting point for further research. It also makes many electronic tasks smoother and more streamlined.
But like every advance in technology–the use of fire, the wheel, electricity, atomic reactions, the printing press–it is dangerous when misused. With no guardrails for online content, I believe AI is forcing a shift away from shared values and meanings, destroying our trust in others’ actions and statements, as well as in our own senses and systems of belief.
Recently, a Boston Globe editorial, co-written by a student and high-school teacher highlighted the stress AI puts on the valuable relationship between teacher and student Teachers now must act as suspicious detectives who try to solve the riddle of a well-written essay: Was it actually written by a human student, or adapted and edited using AI as a template, or created in just a few minutes using generative AI like ChatGPT? Many students are encouraged by schools (with significant economic support from Big Tech) to use AI in their learning, rendering individual teachers and their skills superfluous. The message? AI can do all the hard work of researching and formulating ideas. There’s no good reason to struggle with an assignment if AI can provide the answers quickly and easily. Why bother?
The editorial suggests that creativity and reasoning in all fields are being short-circuited. It asks “How will [students] learn to innovate–a crucial employment and life skill–if AI does their thinking for them?”
But AI sows distrust in our personal lives, too. It’s now necessary to doubt our own five senses. Recently, I wandered by a novelty popcorn shop in a tourist area that advertised its flavor of the day: grilled cheeseburger. If I’d purchased a bag and put my nose in it before having a mouthful, would I believe that the owners had magically mixed cheeseburgers into popcorn form? Nope, advanced digitization of smells and tastes is now common. It may not fit the exact definition of artificial intelligence, but it’s certainly artificial and designed to fool my senses.
Wait! Did I tell you that my favorite ______ (pick one: athlete, singer, movie star, politician, influencer, etc.) called to tell me how to vote in the next election? It sounded perfect and I was gung-ho to follow along until I found out it was AI-generated. The same is true for some new songs.
I can no longer swear to something because “I saw it with my own two eyes.” AI is a master magician, creating false videos and live events that simply can’t be distinguished from real ones with the naked eye.
“Deepfakes” are everywhere on our unregulated Internet. Barack Obama and the Clintons, enduring targets for Trump and friends, appear in falsely generated images showing them arrested or engaging in illegal activities, including treason, sex trafficking, and more. But it’s not just my favorite Republican villains deviously trying to influence us. Democrats also have been charged in California and other states with deceptively using AI.
It all adds up to a world with no easy answers and few reliable sources of information. Instead of taking a statement or reported event with a grain of salt, we need to use an entire salt shaker. But, the taste, like cheeseburger popcorn, isn’t quite the same.
Allen Woods is a freelance writer, author of the Revolutionary-era historical fiction novel “The Sword and Scabbard,” and Greenfield resident. His column appears regularly on a Saturday. Comments are welcome here or at awoods2846@gmail.com.