The idea of AI was first conceived in the first half of the 20th century with movies like The Wizard of Oz and Metropolis and has since grown into everyday terminology. AI is used for anything from autonomous vehicles and personalized learning, to voice assistants and personalized shopping. However, as popular as AI is becoming, many are more concerned with negative ramifications.
The most popular form of AI is Siri and Alexa. Many people use Siri on their smartphones and Alexa at home for convenience. Still, AI is used in many aspects of life, including agriculture and farming, virtual assistance, retail, security and surveillance, manufacturing and production in warehouses, inventory management, and even healthcare. However, some are not sold on intelligent machines. If AI is so convenient, why do many believe it is bad?
Many of the jobs previously listed are typically done by people, which means the more jobs taken over by AI, the more people will become unemployed. According to an OECD report, 14 percent of jobs in the world could be affected by the emergence of artificial intelligence. The report also notes that certain occupations tend to be affected by AI more than others, and some professions require a level of moral comprehension that machines, no matter how intelligent, cannot provide.
Another concern is data privacy. The more evolved technology becomes, the less privacy it seems users have. For example, AI has increased surveillance and tracks data that we consume, so when we search for a new phone case and switch to social media apps, we immediately see phone case ads. Smartphones use iris detection, which means AI has access to our personal information, and AI systems like Siri and Alexa work on voice commands and learn our daily routines. The more advanced technology becomes, the more information AI will collect.
AI is also helping hackers by concealing criminal codes, which means malware will not attack instantly but after a certain number of people have downloaded the application. AI is also used to create imitations of trusted sources and create fake identities such as Instagram bots.
There is no denying that AI has come a long way and will continue to evolve. The question is, what is considered too far? Data security becomes more critical, even in IT asset disposition, as technology becomes more sophisticated.
HOBI is an R2v3, RIOS, and ISO-14001 certified IT asset management and disposition enterprise with more than 30 years of industry experience. HOBI prioritizes clients’ information security and provides fully traceable data destruction and erasure using an internally-developed tool, the HOBI Shield®.
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