Why We Need to Seriously Talk About AI

Vested interests don't want us to talk about the negative effects

Many people are saying that the 2020s are the age of artificial intelligence, or AI. Since ChatGPT went mainstream in late 2022, the AI hype has only gotten bigger and bigger. There are also many vested interests trying to keep the AI train rolling along, despite the many negatives. These vested interests include people making money from AI, people who are afraid that the burst of the AI bubble could bring on a recession, and politicians trying to court the AI industry. But there appear to be serious issues with AI. And we need to seriously talk about them. Now.

The first reason I'm worried about AI is because it uses a lot of electricity. This, in and of itself, is a major problem. Right now is literally the worst time to have a surge in energy demand, because of the whole thing about climate change. We all know that if we keep relying on fossil fuels, we will destroy the future of the planet. Yet, I have also been sympathetic to phasing in the energy transition in a way that would not impact the livelihoods and cost of living of everyday working people. Unlike the climate purists, I think this needs to be a priority too. Therefore, it is crucial that we maintain a delicate balance here. The rise of power hungry AI data centers severely upsets this balance. It could mean the worst of both worlds: surging power prices, and irreversibly damaging the planet too. AI at the expense of everything is both unjust and unjustified. If this means that the development of AI needs to be slowed down, so be it. I seriously think more people need to be informed about this, and think seriously about where they stand on this.

The second reason I'm worried about AI is it takes up a lot of memory, literally. Right now, DRAM prices are surging. This is actually abnormal, because we would expect the price of technology to drop over time. When I was growing up in the late 1990s, computers and their components kept getting cheaper like every month. I remember that, during that era, the only time when prices rose was during the earthquake in Taiwan in 1999, when supply of many chips became scarce so prices rose for a few weeks. And that was highly abnormal for those of us who were observing these things back then. We even told our friends to delay buying that new computer. I'm using this example to show how unusual it is that we have a price surge for RAM, even in the absence of supply chain issues like earthquakes. It is happening because all the RAM is being hoarded to build AI. Again, I think we have a right to say no to this. Ordinary consumers matter too, if we aren't already living in a neo-feudalist oligarchic dystopia. And I hope for the sake of humanity that we haven't gotten there yet.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, I'm very worried that AI is having a negative effect on independent thinking. If people form a habit of simply getting their answers from AI, they won't be doing their own research. I actually don't like that Google defaults to displaying AI results on top of search results, for this reason. If someone has to go through the top 10 Google results to find their answer, they are likely to have encountered two or more different opinions and perspectives on the topic. They would have to decide for themselves, which one is correct, or more commonly, which aspects of which perspective is correct, and to what extent. There is a process of judgement and synthesis there. AI takes all that away. Without independent thinking, things like rational debate, pursuing the objective truth, and even freedom itself are all threatened. If AI leads to this, then I think it's not worth having at all.

It's time we start talking about these, and perhaps other, serious issues regarding AI. I'm fundamentally pro-tech, and have always been, since the time I got excited about Windows 98 as a kid. But AI is not the only future of tech, nor is the current iteration of AI the only possible one. We need to do better to challenge potentially harmful developments from the AI and tech industry. After all, tech serves people, not the other way around.