AI-Induced Speculation over the Demise of Elaborate Writing Proved overdramatic
The widespread use of AI-generated content by 2025 is a topic that has sparked considerable debate, primarily due to the potential risks associated with misinformation, ethical concerns, content originality, intellectual property, transparency, regulatory challenges, and environmental impacts.
One of the main concerns revolves around the misuse of AI. The technology can create synthetic media (images, audio, video) that convincingly impersonate individuals, potentially spreading false or manipulative content. This raises ethical concerns, as such content is difficult to detect and can be intentionally used to deceive.
Organisations and governments are taking steps to address these issues. For instance, the NIH is limiting the use of AI-generated content in critical areas like grant applications to ensure originality and prevent plagiarism or research misconduct. Federal AI policy also introduces new standards to address these risks, although the results are still developing.
Intellectual property and transparency issues are another concern. Generative AI models often train on large internet datasets that may include unlicensed or pirated content, creating legal and ethical challenges. Furthermore, many AI systems lack transparency about how user data is stored and used, raising privacy concerns.
Environmental impact is another factor to consider. Training and deploying large AI models require substantial computing power, which leads to significant greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption, imposing environmental costs.
To reduce these risks, organisations are adopting AI governance frameworks, AI output monitoring, real-time bias correction, and compliance audits to maintain ethical use and content integrity.
Edward Tian, a senior at Princeton University, has built an app to detect whether a text is written by ChatGPT due to concerns about an increase in AI plagiarism. Schools and universities, such as New York City public schools, are also restricting access to ChatGPT due to concerns about its impact on student learning and the accuracy of the content generated.
Despite these concerns, it's important to note that AI-assisted content development may require in-house expertise for vetting and fact-checking. For instance, CNET, a news and advice website, uses AI assistance for basic explainers on financial topics but still has each article reviewed, fact-checked, and edited by an editor with topical expertise before publication.
It's worth mentioning that the predictions of online content being generated by AI by 2025 are being questioned. Predictions that did not come to fruition in the past include the paperless office concept, the long-predicted death of the mainframe, and the end of Moore's Law. Many competitive industries, including financial services, retail, travel and hospitality, healthcare, and more, still rely on mainframes.
In the realm of financial transactions, IBM Z systems handle 90% of all credit card transactions. Up to 2020, 44 of the top 50 banks in the world used IBM Z systems. However, there are concerns about plagiarism and copyright issues with AI-generated content, as it may use protected content without permission.
In conclusion, while AI-generated content offers innovation and efficiency, its widespread adoption by 2025 is questioned due to the risks of misuse, ethical and legal limitations, regulatory scrutiny, and environmental concerns. A cautious and responsible approach to integrating such technology is necessary to ensure its beneficial impact on society.
References:
[1] Mitchell, M. (2021). The Ethics and Risks of AI-Generated Content. Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation.
[2] Tian, E. (2023). AI Plagiarism Detection App. Princeton University.
[3] Zuboff, S. (2019). The Age of Surveillance Capitalism. Public Affairs.
[4] National Institutes of Health (NIH) Policy on AI-Generated Content. (2022). Retrieved from https://www.nih.gov/policy/ai-generated-content-policy
Technology plays a significant role in the creation and distribution of AI-generated content, raising concerns about potential risks such as misinformation, copyright infringement, and ethical dilemmas. With AI technology's ability to convincingly impersonate individuals and create synthetic media, detecting and verifying the authenticity of content becomes increasingly challenging.
Organisations and governments are devising strategies to address these issues by ensuring originality, adopting AI governance frameworks, and monitoring AI output for compliance. However, the ongoing debate surrounds the widespread use of AI-generated content by 2025 due to its questioned benefits, ethical and legal limitations, and environmental concerns.
