Advocate: Concerns About AI
Overview
AI promises to be transformative across society (check out the use cases that What the Tech? high schoolers dreamed up!), but it is also a source of anxiety. What the Tech? participants identified multiple pressing concerns regarding AI through their own explorations and a survey of Boston-area professionals conducted by the high school interns​. These included:
"I had never heard of AI before this program. … How am I supposed to parent my teenage children if this is everywhere and I don’t know what it is and how it works?"
-Tech Goes Home Community Advocacy Fellow​
"[Racial bias in AI] is detrimental to technological inclusivity as it could prevent certain groups of people from taking full advantage of what AI has to offer."
-Undergraduate Memo
"[The City of Boston must] prioritize privacy and personal data protection, giving individuals control over their data usage."
-Undergraduate Memo
"[AI] cannot serve as a replacement for the diagnosis of patients, or the accurate selection of drug targets,”​
-Undergraduate Memo
"The use of AI these days is often perceived as beneficial and helpful, but AI is able to cause job loss. We’ve come together to give a thorough explanation as to how AI is being used in the Art Community and how many use it."
-High School Workshop Memo
"An important thing to know ... is that with advancing technologies, they require lots of materials and locations to run their operations which can often have a negative impact on the environment overtime."
-Undergraduate Memo
Read on for more detail!
Digital Equity and Education
Bottom Line:
Everyone is affected by AI, but not everyone knows what is is. All WTT? participants were alarmed at how few people understand AI even as it pervades all parts of society. Education for all ages is urgently needed before communities can meaningfully deliberate any of the other concerns listed here.​
From the Research:​​​
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One high school student commented in a weekly reflection that, “…While there are many opinions on the controversial upbringing of AI, a general pattern I noticed was that not everyone is familiar with AI, and everyone is at different levels of understanding on the topic…”
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Undergraduate interviews with representatives of cultural groups noted that “[AI] can only be beneficial to those who have the means to use it. … We found that many, regardless of cultural background, are not aware of what AI truly is or what it can be used for.”
Testifying before City Councilors on the need for public education on AI to City Councilors, one Community Fellow stated, “I had never heard of AI before this program. … How am I supposed to parent my teenage children if this is everywhere and I don’t know what it is and how it works?”
Accuracy and Reliability
Bottom Line:
False assertions and “hallucinations” generated by AI tools were one of the greatest and most consistent concerns. Also, AI's overreliance on historical data can simply replicate the past while limiting new possibilities and creativity.
​​From the Research:
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Accuracy was described as a limitation for all uses cases proposed by high school students, especially in medical contexts.
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Accuracy was ranked as the highest concern for the use of AI by Boston-area professionals.
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Undergraduate memos referenced the persistent “need for human oversight and verification” because “as of now, [AI] cannot serve as a replacement for the diagnosis of patients, or the accurate selection of drug targets,” or other applications.
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Sometimes AI can be too accurate, though, by remaining faithful to historical patterns. The same memos noted that, “Many [college students] indicated that they felt like the algorithm [on social media platforms] was over-tuned to their preferences, resulting in homogenous feeds that reduce spontaneity and discovery.”
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High school students were also concerned that AI in the arts could constrain creativity by limiting artists to established designs and techniques.
Bias
Bottom Line:
AI algorithms are prone to unequal treatment of racial minorities and disadvantaged populations, especially if they are based on flawed or incomplete data.​
From the Research:
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Bias was the second-highest concern among Boston-area professionals (52% of respondents indicated it was one of their top two concerns).
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Representatives of cultural groups interviewed by WTT? college students cited “racial bias…due to a non-diverse training set. This is detrimental to technological inclusivity as it could prevent certain groups of people from taking full advantage of what AI has to offer.”
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High school participants in WTT? also described bias as a major concern for their use cases.
Job Displacement
​From the Research:
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WTT?’s high school participants were especially concerned about job displacement, who saw the new technology as replacing professionals in music and the arts, transportation, and more.
Bottom Line:
AI could replace many skilled jobs, with some professions more vulnerable than others. The fear that as AI becomes more and more powerful, more and more workers will be at risk of displacement.
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In contrast, college students “[were] not concerned about being replaced by [AI}” but anticipated that many jobs would shift to “managing AI” because the technology lacks “a distinguishable ‘human touch.’” Some even expressed “optimism for growth in industries and new job positions.”
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Boston-area professionals saw job displacement as the least pressing concern among those listed here.
Privacy and Security
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​​From the Research:
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Boston-area professionals reported that this was a major issue with AI systems.
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Undergraduate memos noted “data privacy and HIPAA violations” as major issues and urged Boston’s CIO to “prioritize privacy and personal data protection, giving individuals control over their data usage.”
Bottom Line:
There are deep misgivings about how AI collects, uses, and protects data about each user and interaction.​​​
Environmental Risks
Bottom Line:
For all the amazing things AI can and may one day do, one fact remains: it requires a lot of water to work. As droughts increase worldwide due to climate crisis, emphasis on the responsible usage of AI must be part of the discussion.
​​From the Research:
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WTT? participants regularly discussed environmental issues during workshops.
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Undergraduates were concerned that AI tools use a lot of energy and resources. They warn it should not be overused to the point where it irreversibly deteriorates our environment.
