AI et al.: opportunities and risks
The rapid advances in the field of artificial intelligence and the resulting challenges were dominant topics in 2023. At the turn of the year commentators continue the debate, also with an eye to other scientific and technological developments.
Science is our friend
Dagens Nyheter lists positive developments:
“Renewable energies from the sun, wind and water are becoming ever cheaper. According to estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA), they will provide half of the global energy supply as early as 2030. ... At the same time, we are now entering a golden age of medicine. For example, discoveries related to the development of Covid vaccines have proven useful in cancer research. ... In addition, the advance of artificial intelligence is speeding up the entire research process, making more discoveries possible within shorter time spans. The ever cheaper 3D printers have already triggered a revolution: prostheses can now be produced easily and cheaply.”
A revolution that raises fundamental questions
Ta Nea writes:
“Since 30 November 2022, when the OpenAI ChatGPT was launched, a true revolution has taken place. ... The software has become an all-purpose super tool, forcing big tech companies to redesign their operations with AI at their core. ... AI has already changed the rules of the game, at least in education, artistic creation (hence the big strike in Hollywood), news, political communication and competition between companies and states. It raises crucial questions about the meaning of progress, the veracity of information, the relationship between man and machine and the overtaking, if not replacement, of the former by the latter.”
The productivity shock that Europe needed
In Trends-Tendances, economist Philippe Ledent describes AI as a significant business opportunity:
“The innovations associated with AI have enormous potential. Although the concept needs to be demystified somewhat, one thing is clear: AI is ready to help companies, even if it's just about taking over repetitive tasks. In other words, at a time when our economies are lacking increases in productivity, AI could be just the technological shock they need. This is crucial and could quickly be reflected in economic activity figures.”
Empathy makes way for algorithms
In Libération, university lecturer Marius Bertolucci takes a sceptical view of the French education minister's plan to introduce an AI platform for all lycée students in Year 10:
“Let's imagine the kind of classroom that the minister and [software developer] EvidenceB want: the teacher, reduced to the role of a supervisor, manages a dashboard of AI teachers. This fundamental change in classroom dynamics risks creating a certain distance. ... Empathy will disappear in favour of algorithms. Teachers will become mere managers of their supposedly more efficient AI colleagues. ... For pupils, a new dividing line will be created between them and the world, be it social (their classmates) or physical (paper and exercise books).”