The Danger of Artificial Intelligence in a Human World
AI as a threat to our psychological health and close relationships
Introducing artificial intelligence into society sparked a controversial debate that is only just unravelling. Currently far from consensus, this modern debate is explored in ‘Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other’ (Turkle, 2012), on which the next few posts will be based. Artificial intelligence (AI) is the creation of intelligent machines (Nilsson, 2009), yet is this truly possible? This post will focus on healthcare and childhood entertainment to address the potential harm to our psychological health and close relationships at the hands of AI. Turkle proposes that AI currently cannot, and should not, replace human connections, an opinion justified below.
AI as a series of “theoretical possibilities” (Buchanan, 2005, p. 53) spans far back in history, yet it was only termed ‘artificial intelligence’ in 1956 (Dick, 2019). Today, AI has a firm grasp on society, with technological assistants such as Apple’s ‘Siri’ and Amazon’s ‘Alexa’, never out of reach (Horned, 2020). As life becomes increasingly reliant on technology, it begs the question ‘are we too dependent’? Dependency may be born in childhood.
AI in Childhood Entertainment
According to Horned (2020), children generally approach AI with an excited urge to explore. Their parents, on the other hand, feel they’re losing control,
“you can only control it to a certain degree… you just have to live with it” (p. 17).
Turkle mentions ‘Furbies’ (Wrenn, 2012) as an example of AI in childhood entertainment. Similarly to ‘Tamagotchi’ (Harrison, 2019), children care for their Furby and ‘teach’ it; in return, Furby appears to demonstrate emotion through phrases such as “I love you” (Turkle, 2012, p. 35). However, Furbies cannot be turned off. This is problematic as the toy may appear as its own entity, increasing children’s difficulty of distinguishing between live creatures and automated machines.
Some have raised concern here regarding children’s development. For example, McStay and Rosner (2021 as cited in Cordeiro, 2021) suggest AI which provokes emotional responses may harm development. This claim is also supported by Pashevich (2021)- she found that children’s empathy development can be damaged by these AI toys. While this is worth considering, it must be noted that this is a new research field- more research is needed to fully support these claims.
AI in Healthcare
Addressing a wider context, children questioned regarding the introduction of AI to their grandparents feared their company would be replaced by favoured AI. Unfortunately, Turkle validated these children’s fears, documenting the elderly engaging in private conversations with AI, some ignoring their grandchildren to do so. This is cause for concern- relationships with AI damaged true, human connection.
Moreover, the use of sociable robots in care homes is similarly criticised. Some argue that it removes guilt from absent relatives as AI provides support and connection instead (Turkle, 2012). Fortunately, this is criticised by Mind’s Stephen Buckley (Savage, 2020); while he advocates the use of AI to aid loneliness, he warns it should not be a replacement for human connection.
However, benefits of AI in healthcare include reduced workload for caregivers, reduced loneliness in the elderly and a reliable monitor of patients, one which may also aid treatment (Intel, n.d.).
Overall, as AI becomes increasingly central, it is vital to note the strength of AI to instigate potential harm. Nonetheless, the benefits of AI cannot be ignored. In this new age, the widening of the definition of intelligence may be necessary- this definition may remain fluid as AI advances.
Should we fear the harm AI could instigate? Or is it simply a new source of connection?
References:
Buchanan, B. G. (2005). A (very) brief history of artificial intelligence. AI Magazine, 26(4), 53–60. https://doi.org/10.1609/aimag.v26i4.1848
Cordeiro, V. C. (2021, May 25). The influence of emotional artificial intelligence and digital toys on child development. Humanium. https://www.humanium.org/en/the-influence-of-emotional-artificial-intelligence-and-digital-toys-on-child-development/
Dick, S. (2019). Artificial intelligence. Harvard Data Science Review, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.1162/99608f92.92fe150c
Harrison, V. (2019, June 2). Tamagotchi returns in wave of 1990s nostalgia toy joy. BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-48362289
Horned, A. (2020). Conversational agents in a family context: A qualitative study with children and parents investigating their interactions and worries regarding conversational agents [Master’s thesis, Umeå University]. DiVA. https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1443299/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Intel. (n.d.). Robotics in healthcare to improve patient outcomes. Intel. https://www.intel.co.uk/content/www/uk/en/healthcare-it/robotics-in-healthcare.html
Nilsson, N. J. (2009). The quest for artificial intelligence. Cambridge University Press.
Pashevich, E. (2021). Can communication with social robots influence how children develop empathy? Best-evidence synthesis. AI & SOCIETY. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-021-01214-z
Savage, M. (2020, March 26). Can artificial intelligence fight elderly loneliness? BBC. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200325-can-voice-technologies-using-ai-fight-elderly-loneliness
Turkle, S. (2012). Alone together: Why we expect more from technology and less from each other. Basic Books.
Wrenn, E. (2012, May 16). He’s back! Furby- the Christmas craze of 1998- returns in a bid to be 2012’s must-have present. Daily Mail. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2144825/Furby--Christmas-craze-1998--returns-bid-2012s-present.html
