Experiences in Digitalisation

 As a student, my use of AI tools have become more frequent. Just like I used to rely mainly on the internet search engine to find sources for information, I now have the benefit of using AI tools, like ChatGPT (Chat Generative Pretrained Transformer) to assist with the initial stages of my work – it’s perhaps not very surprising that some predict AI could eventually replace traditional search engines like Google (Friedman, 2022). With ChatGPT I can now do initial forays into relevant topics, it also helps me juggle ideas, for example by combining different subjects to find potential connections I did not consider before. It can also offer grammatical suggestions. However, while it can assist in brainstorming and drafting, the expressions and information it generates can often be repetitive, unnecessarily wordy, or even inaccurate, or just plain wrong, which requires me to check and filter everything carefully: I can’t rely solely on what AI produces, not just because of possible course requirements, but because what it produces does require critical evaluation and refinement to ensure accuracy and relevance in what I want to express.

AI has helped also to make tasks more suitable for automation, such as checking format for references, speedier. I have noticed it can also check code, and provide code, quite successfully. 

In the future, I expect ChatGPT will become more effective, and accurate, in sourcing information, as it will likely have access to larger range of databases. Hopefully, it can also provide more detailed references for the information it outputs. Likely it will also become more sophisticated in terms of grammar and become increasingly personalised. 

As for future work in general, I would expect the technology will enable increasing amount of hybrid and remote work, although there seems to be some pushback, as certain employers are starting to require employees to return to the office. However, I still doubt this will trend will make this normalised again. There would be environmental and economic benefits for remote work, as there would be less commuting and running of the work spaces. Maybe there will be virtual working environments that will substitute the more physical ones, or at least there could be more developed ways to interact with colleagues with other extended reality (XR) technologies, for example, having mixed reality (MR) whiteboard. 

On the less positive side of things, AI can help to make more sophisticated phishing scams, now quickly made and grammatically correct in multiple languages. It can also be used to create malware with increasing sophistication and ease, as it can be used to code. There is also increasing amount personal data that is being captured and stored, including our health information and online communications, and they can be vulnerable for abuse. Increasing reliance on online technology that can facilitate mass surveillance can erode personal privacy in previously unseen scale. Governments and corporations can use personal data, possibly without our full understanding or consent, and this data is also stored somewhere where also other interested parties can potentially access it without permission.

Also, the increasing the amount of available data does not necessarily imply increased knowledge, as the vast amount of information and diverse worldviews accessible through the internet would not lead into a coherent consensus on reality. Instead, this can give rise to divisions fuelled by adherence to simplistic narratives, conspiracy theories and post-truth politics. Author James Bridle called this the new dark age (Bridle 2018). 

Environmental issues are also worth noticing. It has been stated that generating one AI image consumes as much electricity as charging a mobile phone (Heikkilä 2023), which can give indication how vast is the energy consumption of data centres.

General Data Protection Regulation

Measures for data protection were introduced in 2016. On the positive side, this has likely given users more control over how personal information is used, making their operations of organisations more transparent and trustworthy. On the negative side, it has introduced layers of legal complexity for organisations, potentially more costs to upgrade to IT systems that match GDPR’s demands, for example in secure file storage.  I can mainly just see the negative sides being those for the business. 

I have not previously thought of the implications this has had on my life, but I have now learned more of the  importance of these regulations -if I can actually access data that organisation have of me and request deletion of some of them, I suppose now I feel at least slightly more secure, and I suppose due to these regulations I have to click ‘agree’ on more terms and conditions, which I rarely read.

Using ChatGPT

I asked ChatGPT to write a polite email to a colleague asking for confirmation of a meeting time. There were not any unnecessary wording, the suitable pleasantries were present and not to excess. 

Currently, I am about to install an OS update that will integrate this to the email program I use. I am still uncomfortable that writing pleasantries becomes more of an automated process, as they can now become more impersonal. This also makes me wonder will they be even expected to be included anymore in future communications. AI will still speed up making quick responses and asking simple queries, and most likely increasingly complicated ones in the future – assuming AI one uses will become more personalised and can communicate in a way that feels quite suitable for individual expression. Who knows, maybe this personal AI could be more than just something like a personal assistant: it could become something that one merges their personality into. 

More thoughts on the use of ChatGPT can be found in the beginning of this text, where discuss the potential drawbacks and benefits I experienced while using ChatGPT.

Self evaluation

I looked into privacy and security concerns surrounding the widespread adoption of online digital technologies. I also read about the environmental impact, the transformation of work environments, and the potential benefits of these technologies, particularly in the context of AI. Given the relatively recent nature of AI and its rapid spread and development, which has already become an integral part of many lives, I am curious to see what the world will look like in the future. While I am neither skeptical nor overly optimistic about it, I believe it is crucial to remain vigilant and stay informed about the changes during this probably continuous transformative period fuelled by technology.

References

Bridle, J. (2018). New dark age: Technology and the end of the future. Verso.

Friedman, A. (2022). AI chatbot predicted to replace Google in a couple of years. Phone Arena, 6. Retrieved from https://www.phonearena.com/news/ai-chatbot-could-replace-google-soon_id144120 (accessed 11.12.2024).

Heikkilä, M. (2023). Making an image with generative AI uses as much energy as charging your phone. MIT Technology Review. Retrieved from https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/12/01/1084189/making-an-image-with-generative-ai-uses-as-much-energy-as-charging-your-phone/ (accessed 11.12.2024)

Comments for blogs

DIGI SOCIETY

The TED Talks on security and privacy are now nearly a decade old and I wonder how much has changed since then. With ongoing updates in operating systems to enhance privacy and security, maybe, and hopefully, many challenges have been met. Regarding increasing reliance on AI, it’s interesting to consider the effects it can have to these issues, especially when it is being integrated into the operating systems, https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/jun/13/apple-intelligence-ai.

Also, the environmental impact of AI can be concerning, according to a recent article it stated that generating a single generative AI image consumes as much energy as charging a mobile phone, https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/12/01/1084189/making-an-image-with-generative-ai-uses-as-much-energy-as-charging-your-phone/. It does make me wonder how the growing usage of this technology will be managed.

DIGI SOCIETY

As you mentioned, while AI might streamline tasks or replace repetitive jobs, researchers—who rely heavily on critical thinking, creativity, and judgment—are unlikely to be replaced anytime soon. Still, I would think that the number of jobs in research would decrease, as AI can increase efficiency in this area too, even if misinformation or inaccuracies from AI require cross-checking and critical evaluation. Overall, it’s still important to consider ways in which AI can complement, rather than replace, human expertise, even if our roles will evolve into being kind of ‘curators’ of the material produced by AI technology.