THE’artificial intelligence He is transforming and influencing an impressive speed of whole sectors such as scientific research, healthcare, and global economy. If on the one hand the AI offers unprecedented opportunities In terms of automation, efficiency and innovation in these and many other fields, on the other raises important doubts linked to the loss of jobs, privacy, safety and environmental impact. Generative, in particular, has expanded the possibilities of interaction between man and machine, making the IA an increasingly widespread presence in our daily lives. The concerns on how this technology can be used and on its potential long -term consequences are at the center of rather bright political and regulatory debates.
Many governments are trying to balance innovation And safety through more stringent regulations, such as the recent AI Acts European, which aims to make the most transparent And reliable. In the meantime, the scientific community discusses how Ai can accelerate progress in fields such as biotechnology and the fight against climate change, but also on how risky it is to entrust critical decisions to artificial intelligence systems. What are the pros and cons of the AI?
The disadvantages of the AI: what are the possible risks
Given the evolution of artificial intelligence and its increasingly important adoption rate, therefore, it would not be wise to underestimate the Possible negative sides of the AI.
- Work world: If on the one hand the automation would improve productivity, on the other it has generated fears about the Loss of jobsespecially in the most easily automated sectors such as customer service and administrative management. According to estimates, about a third of the working tasks could be carried out by AI systems, reducing the need for human personnel for some activities. It is also true, however, that while some roles risk disappearing, the demand for new skills – for example in the field of machine learning and cybersecurity – is growing rapidly.
- Data management: Artificial intelligence algorithms need enormous quantities of information to be trained, but this has raised concerns about privacy and the protection of personal data. The case of Openai, investigated for possible violations of the European privacy regulations, is just one of the multiple examples of how the theme of transparency has become crucial. The problem is so felt that in United Statesthe Biden administration proposed a Ai Bill of Rightsa set of guidelines to guarantee responsible use of AI (although at the moment it has no legal value), while theEuropean Union has introduced theAI Actsa set of rules born with the aim of guaranteeing safe, fair and transparent use of artificial intelligence.
- Equity and security issues: AI models, if trained on distorted data, can perpetuate existing discrimination. A well -known example is that of facial recognition systems, which often show higher error rates for people with darker complexion, increasing the risk of unjust decisions in the contexts of surveillance and application of the law.
- Disinformation diffusion: with the evolution of deepfake – Videos or images manipulated with AI to seem authentic – it becomes more and more difficult to distinguish reality from fiction. This phenomenon can be used for fraudulent purposes, from political propaganda to financial scams.
- Negative environmental impact: The training of the most advanced models requires a huge amount of energy. According to some estimates, the emissions generated by AI they could increase until80% In the coming years, putting global efforts for sustainability at risk. At the same time, however, AI could be used to optimize production chains, reduce waste and improve energy efficiency, which would suggest that its environmental impact will depend largely on how it will be used.
The advantages of AI: possible positive sides
Which are, however, i Possible positive sides of the AI? Thanks to the ability to quickly analyze huge data volumes, AI is revolutionizing crucial sectors.
- Promote creativity: Artificial intelligence applied to the workplace could automate boring or repetitive activities. In the field of industrial development, its use would allow to Maximize productivity. This is because AI can allow you to make processes smarter and more efficient.
- Delegate dangerous tasks for human beings: such as the management of toxic substances, the deflated of explosive devices or the rescue operations in hostile environments.
- Financial sector: banks and institutions use machine learning algorithms to detect fraud, conduct audit And Better to better evaluate credit risk.
- Medicine: Thanks to the analysis of big data, artificial intelligence allows faster and more accurate diagnosissupports the discovery of new drugs And it monitors patients through virtual assistants.
- Instruction: AI can be used to digitize textbooks, detect the plagiarism (the prof. of Italian will be happy who want to find the “smart ones” who copy the themes from the Internet) and even analyze the facial expressions of the students to evaluate their level of attention, so as to Improve learning and teaching techniques.
- Transport: AI is the basis of autonomous guided technologies which, at least potentially, could make transport more efficient With a positive environmental impact, at least “on paper”.
The evolution of AI: from the 1950s to today
If many have heard of AI for the first time in November 2022, when the “bubble” of chatgpt broke out, in reality artificial intelligence has existed for a lifetime and has had a long evolution from 1950s To date.
The first experiments on AI date back to 1951with the first Dama game against the computer developed by Christopher Straccheyformer study companion of Alan Turingconsidered one of the fathers of information technology. Strachey asked the latter to provide him with the computer manual Mark 1presented by Turing together with other scientists in 1949 And so it was that Strachey’s software was born, considered by some by the first documented success of a computer -based computer program. Since then, artificial intelligence has made giant steps, with historical goals such as the victory of Deep Blue against the chess sample Garry Kasparov In the 1997 and the success of the computer IBM Watson in the television quiz Jeopardy! In the 2011. In recent years, Openai has revolutionized the sector with the release of GPT modelsgiving way to a race to develop advanced tools by other competitors companies, including Gemini Of Google and Claude Of Anthropic.
Parallel to the development of technology, his adoption rate has also grown. That’s why AI A today is considered one of the most influential technologies in the world, pushing the evolution of areas such as the roboticsthedata analysis el ‘Internet of things or IoT (Internet of Things). According to a survey conducted by IBM In the 2023The 42% of companies had already adopted artificial intelligence tools in their processes, while a further 40% He was considering doing it. The spread of generative AI – capable of producing texts, images, videos and even IT code – has led to a rapid expansion of this technology in the company, creative and scientific sector and is used by millions of users every day also to carry out their daily activities.
