By Alex Walford, software engineer at Infrastar 

The rise of AI has left many people feeling conflicted, leading to mass misunderstanding and lack of awareness of the dangers and benefits of new technology.

For humanity to progress, become more productive, safer and greener, we need to adopt new technologies to help improve the unique situations we now find ourselves in.

Unfortunately, many people fear artificial intelligence (AI). You may be one of these people, but you're missing out on the forefront of innovation and, ultimately, the future.

Why do people fear AI?

AI takes many different forms, some of which can be perceived as being more terrifying than others. Under the most recent developments, AI video has been one of the most unique but realistic forms of AI art that is taking over the internet.

Other such technologies like Chat GPT, a large language model (AI chat bot), are rapidly improving and can often be quite alarming to those who are not in frequent contact with these systems.

These new AI tools can also be used in malicious ways to affect everyday people, from automated email scams to fake AI generated images that draw in crowds of people.

With so many scams possible, it is no surprise that people fear these systems.

Should I fear AI?

This is the big question, with a lot of controversy surrounding it. People with an enhanced understanding of AI and machine learning typically do not fear its current capabilities to the same extent that popular media, such as movies and newspapers, may portray it.

We should move away from the science fiction anxiety which plagues us and understand the real-world use of these systems. My own opinion on this topic is that we need to remove the stigma associated with AI and encourage the use of it in modern day society. This is already happening, and AI is a big part of how the world works in 2024.

What about the online petitions?

It is certainly no secret that various campaigners have attempted to sign petitions to shut down or freeze out AI companies to stunt their growth or restrict their capabilities.

Again, there is plenty of scientific dispute when it comes to the validity of these petitions. Many scaremongers and people who lack understanding will typically promote or sign them.

However, there is certainly some validity in these claims. There are some things we should not necessarily be scared of but should certainly keep a close eye on.

To put it simply, we all need to be aware of the potential hazards of AI systems, but should not fear them. There is nothing we can do to stop their inevitable growth and our international dependence on them.

What we should be more concerned about is information and data privacy with these systems and how they are being used to create unique scams or commit other crimes by malicious individuals.

With the ever-increasing number of robots which now control and interact with the internet, we need to be aware and actively avoid interacting with these sorts of systems.

Ultimately it is your decision as to what you are concerned about and how you decide to protect yourself against AI or its misuse.

AI is a large part of our everyday lives, and we will continue to depend on it for the foreseeable future. Fearing new technology is nothing new, but I personally believe it should be embraced for the benefit of society.

To some extent, AI machine learning has been around for much longer than most people realise. It is just that it has now become much more advanced and useful to us.

If you're not already using it, consider using an AI system such as Chat GPT to improve the productivity of your work for light tasks, such as creating lists or generating content that you would not otherwise be able to.

For more information, go to https://infrastar.co.uk or call 01242 303720.