Age of AI

The age of AI has been upon us for some time. However, the rampant use of AI is progressing. I believe that the AlphaGo program introduced in the beginning of the film that beat Lee Sedol, was just the beginning of artificial intelligence growing to become a global phenomenon. The first half of the video that focused on the many uses of AI in China between the loan lending services, facial credit cards, and facial recognition is exciting, yet quite frightening due to the power of AI. 

The US portrays itself as a country that is far more developed than many countries which is not an entirely false statement, but looking at China it seems way more advanced than the US would want to admit. China  leads the world in e-commerce. China is a country that uses facial recognition as your credit card, and cashier-less stores in the span of less than three years. For instance, the example the video gave about being about to pay for your food in Beijing with facial recognition is scary. 

Another potential benefit, but negative effect of of AI is how all the tracking can create a social credit score, and how someone will always be watching you at all times any given day, which is pertinent to a comment made in the video where someone said AI is Orwellian-like mentioning George Owell’s novel 1984 and the Big Brother phenomenon and downfall of civil liberties. I also feel that AI will be the biggest catalyst of capitalism. I also  liked the comparison between AI being the new oil and China being the new Saudi Arabia based specifically on AI and digital data.

The use of AI in the United States is a phenomenon that I feel is affecting the working class economy. The growth of AI in the economy is weakening the job force for people. The weakening of the job force with more use of AI for automation leads to less economic security for the working class and further decreases the cost of living as pointed out in this clip. 

The further growth of AI will continue to affect generations of families who will be affected by automation, which is further proven in this clip. Lastly, I feel that the growth of AI and automation is a great growth for technology and certain job markets. However, I feel that the biggest downfall of AI and automation will be the economic shift that will affect working class families.