Table of Contents
Introduction: What is AI?
AI is becoming an important tool in everyday life. With the increased prevalence in AI, there is also an increased interest in how AI can be used to enhance our lives, both personally and professionally. Privacy, security and ethics are just some of the important considerations that arise from this development. There are also a myriad of other legal and ethical issues that may arise as AI develops further. The emergence of these issues raises the question, “what is AI?” This paper will provide an overview of how AI works and how it has been used to date. It will also discuss the ethical and legal issues that arise in relation to use of AI.
What is artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence involves creating a computer program which can solve problems autonomously, by learning from experience. AI can therefore be seen as the study of the design and development of machines that are able to do things that are normally a human being’s job. AI has been around since the days of ancient Greece, but rarely reached prominence outside academia until recent years.
AI is still a relatively new field within computer science, but it is more popular now than ever before. AI has been used in many real-world applications and is likely to play an important role in the future.
History of artificial intelligence
What are the Dangers of AI-Powered Devices?
Secondly, an AI-powered device can collect information about you and your preferences. This knowledge can be used to determine what advertisements you may see online and ultimately, advertisements that are tailored to your needs. This means that advertisers will be able to present you with a more effective advertisement which may persuade you to purchase a product or service you do not actually need.
Additionally, the negative impacts of AI-powered devices cannot be understated. As these devices become more powerful and connected to each other, they have the potential to destroy your privacy and anonymity as well as infringe upon your personal liberties. This is especially problematic in regards to third world countries where basic human rights are often violated by authoritarian governments.
Finally, there are also real risks that present themselves if you use an AI-powered device. Many such devices connect to the Internet and run on a type of artificial intelligence software. These devices are vulnerable to hacking, which means that cyber criminals may have access to personal information about you. They may even be able to control your device remotely and use it for malicious purposes like spamming or sending out viruses.
“How does using Siri or Alexa threaten our privacy and security?” : [ARTICLE END]
How to Prevent These Dangers from Hitting Close to Home?
Although the vast majority of AI applications are not meant to invade our privacy, some people may wish to take precautions. Some of the more common AI-powered devices include: smart TV’s, smartwatches, fitness trackers, Internet-connected cameras and home assistants. The good news is that most of these devices are equipped with privacy settings that allow you to adjust what information about you can be shared.
However, it is important to understand what privacy level you have set on these devices. For example, Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant can only record information concerning their respective products when users turn them on or set them to ‘always listening’.
Additionally, some of these companies have come under fire for selling customer data without consent. In fact, the FTC have recently begun a crackdown on data brokers such as Acxiom, who sell personal information about consumers without their consent.
Below is a list of the most common AI-powered devices:
Smart TVs
Remote control TVs are hard to avoid these days. In fact, many TV sets monitor your remote’s programming preferences and strive to find similar content based on their own catalog. For example, Netflix subscribers on a Samsung smart TV may be inundated with recommendations for movies and shows they are likely to enjoy. On the other hand, some television sets maintain a very low level of privacy by never recording information about who has used them.
The good news is that most modern televisions let you adjust your privacy settings. All of the following models have privacy modes that can be altered:
Marantz models (including Series 3, Series 7, and Series 8)
Sony models (including XBR-65X940C, XBR-55X800E, and XBR-49X800C)
Conclusion: The Future Is Here But We Can Still Protect Ourselves
AI already holds great potential for personal and professional growth. In time, it’s likely that AI will play a much more important role in our lives. That said, AI remains a new technology so there is still time to train your mind and protect yourself from the dangers of these powerful machines. The purpose of this article is to provide information about the dangers of AI, but also to help you recognize what sort of opportunities AI will bring in the near future.
There are numerous dangers posed by AI, but the most pressing issues include the following: lack of transparency, ethical considerations, and attacks on humans. These are three major areas of concern that will hopefully stave off the over-confident view of AI as a perfect technology.
