Is Using AI a Bad Thing?
Introduction
"Using AI is cheating."
"Relying on AI will only cause human abilities to decline."
—We hear these voices often lately.
Especially with the development and spread of generative AI,
"Isn't using AI itself a bad thing?"
—more people are harboring doubts and anxieties like this.
So, is using AI really
a "bad thing"?
In this article,
while organizing various perspectives and values
regarding the use of AI,
"How should we face AI?"
we will think about this.
The True Nature of the "Unease" Toward AI
Many of the criticisms toward AI
often stem from feelings like the following.
It looks like they are getting results without effort.
I'm afraid human jobs will be taken away.
Creativity and individuality seem like they will be lost.
I feel like people using AI
are "cheating."
These feelings
should by no means be denied.
Until now, we have lived
with pride in creating value
through "effort" and "manual labor."
When that is threatened by the arrival of AI,
it is natural for anxiety and backlash to arise.
AI is Nothing More Than a "Tool"
What I want to consider here is
the perspective that "AI is ultimately a tool."
For example, when the calculator appeared,
voices were raised by people who calculated with mental math or abacuses,
saying "people will stop using their heads."
But now,
using a calculator
is neither "cheating" nor "bad," is it?
In the same way,
AI can also become a tool that enhances value
"depending on how it is used".
People who use AI to expand their ideas
People who create a draft of text and finish it in their own way
People who leave tedious manual work to AI and spend their time on creative activities
Couldn't it be said that these ways of using it
actually enhance
creativity and productivity?
Whether it is 'cheating' depends on your purpose and attitude
However, there are 'gray areas' in how AI is used.
Imitating someone else's work as-is using AI
Leaving all submissions to AI without checking the content yourself
Falsely claiming that something created by AI was 'entirely thought up by yourself'
These ways of using it leave room for being considered
'cheating'
or
'ethically problematic.'
Ultimately, whether using AI becomes 'evil' is determined by
your 'purpose' and 'attitude'.
Does using AI mean letting go of your ability to think?
One common misconception is that
'using AI will make you lose your thinking ability.'
However, in reality,
'thinking ability' is essential to using AI well.
What should I ask the AI?
How should I evaluate the answers that come out?
How much should I leave to AI, and where does my own judgment begin?
By thinking about these things consciously,
the 'quality of your thinking' is actually being put to the test.
AI is a partner for 'co-creation'
In the coming era,
AI will exist not as our 'rival,' but as a
'partner for creating together.'
Collaborating with AI to produce better output.
That is not 'cheating,'
but perhaps a 'new form of effort.'
Conclusion: How will you engage with it?
Regarding the use of AI,
there are various pros and cons in the world.
But the final question I want to ask is,
'How do you yourself want to engage with AI?'
Will you use it as a convenient tool?
Will you choose not to use it and trust in your own abilities?
Will you view it as a partner to grow with?
That choice can be based on your own values.
What is important is that,
regardless of your stance,
you choose it of your own free will.
In the age of AI,
perhaps our "humanity" is being called into question.