Prosper Exchange Post Presentation Executive Summary - Pros & Cons of AI

TOPIC:
A Discussion on Pros and Cons of Artificial Intelligence 

PRESENTERS:
Dr. Ryan Carpenter, Special Advisor for the Special Competitive Studies Project.

Dr. Michael Monticino, Chair, Department of Advanced Analytics, University of North Texas

PRESENTATION HIGHLIGHTS:

The presentation and discussion centered on several key points, some of these included the creation, implementation, and evaluation of AI in the contexts of society, economy, and education.

Society: As a society, we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg of what AI can do now and what it will be able to do in the future. Many businesses are rapidly moving to adopt AI; however, other businesses are fearful of AI. For these reasons, it is important that conversations focus on demystifying the myths of IA. Part of this involves understanding the different intelligences and their qualities; for example, machine learning (data), neural networks (brain imitation), natural language (speech and documents) and robotics (machines). There are also different types of intelligences within these structures, which include, general AI (voice assistance such as Siri and Alexa), narrow or weak AI (which would be specific to a task like image recognition or language translations), and superintelligence AI (such as ChatGPT, self-driving cars, medical tools). In short, many technology tools have already been using AI, so important to its evolution will be (a) transparency in data collection and (b) how algorithms will be utilized to target users and consumers. This will be essential to how, as a society, we engage with AI now and in the future.

Economy: There are certainly advantages and disadvantages of adopting AI; for instance, some advantages include improved efficiency for businesses because AI can process and analyze large amounts of data more quickly. There is also a high level of confidence that AI will continue to play a significant role in healthcare because of its prescriptive analytics and patterns in patient treatments. Overall, the speed and the amount of data that AI can manage has the potential to expand products and services more quickly. 

Education: Both speakers agreed that K-12 and higher education institutions must continue to provide students opportunities to innovate and engage with different technologies, such as coding, robotics, virtual reality, to name a few.

Post Presentation Executive Summary - written by Diana Hopes