Here are THREE Reasons Why Artificial Intelligence Can Be a Good Thing

Before you make any assumptions about what I think and feel about using AI in my daily life, I need to clarify a couple of things first.

???? I am not new to AI. AI isn't a brand-new concept or idea. It has been around for decades. As a third-year student at NYP, I was also part of the class that studied AI as one of our core modules. For both the module's projects, I was also one of the students who scored distinction. So, I've known about what AI can do since the early 2000s.

???? Second, I truly believe that technology isn't a bad thing. Just like most things in life, it is neutral. It is only a tool that we can use to help further enhance our work and our lives. The most important thing lies in how we choose to use these technologies. Do we use them to do good things, or do we use them for personal gains? When I met my new lecturer in school today for the first time, we spoke about it in class. And he is correct; there will always be those people who will choose to abuse the power of these technologies and ideas. This is not something that you or I can control. However, what we can control is by making sure that we continue to advocate for [and encourage] the better use of these new technologies and ideas. I sincerely hope that we as a society will come together to use these technologies to do more good and outweigh the bad.

???? Finally, I do not believe that AI can or will replace all of us. Now, just to be clear, ever since the dawn of mankind and our capacity to invent and innovate, it is a known fact that when we refuse to evolve or change with the times, we will eventually fall behind. In that context, yes, we can get replaced. Not because we are not good enough or that AI is better than us. No. It just means that we were unwilling to accept change or embrace it as a part of who we must become. Like it or not, AI is like this tsunami wave that is barreling at us, and it is not a matter of if it hits us but when. Many people are already starting to experience some of the effects of those changes.

So, rather than fearing or avoiding the use of AI, I think it is finally time for us to look at it and ask ourselves, "How can I use AI to enhance my productivity/performance and also empower what I can already do today?"

AI Raises the Bar of What is Possible

As someone who is just starting to appreciate the incredible power of AI and its potential value, I am also here to share that I do see the incredible possibilities that come with greater accessibility to AI-related tools. Back when I first studied AI in school, it was a subject that many people feel is out-of-reach by most folks. It feels so advanced that most of us won't even consider it a part of our daily lives. That was 21 years ago. Today, thanks to OpenAI and ChatGPT , AI has gradually become a part of our lives—most of the time, it is done in a seemingly subtle way. Like we won't even realize that it is there unless we look closely.

In my book, when AI is integrated into our lives and how we work (without us being lazy to do the work), it will not replace us but rather empower us so that we can do what we are already doing better. To me, there will always be those who only want to use AI-related tools as a way to take a shortcut. It might benefit them in the immediate term, but they will not benefit from it in the long run.

When you consider the context of applying AI to our work, school, and daily living, it is easy to see that AI can raise the bar of what we think is possible. Learning to depend on AI in the right situation and use case has enabled me to finish a task that usually takes me days. It also allowed me to learn something new within a single day that would've otherwise taken weeks to understand. But it is still vital for you to know that I did some of that work myself. It wasn't 100% AI. More like 40-60? Or perhaps 50-50? Regardless of that number, I knew that if I had blindly relied on AI for my work, I would not have been able to fully reap the benefits.

It is Now a Part of Our Lives

As I mentioned above, AI is already a part of our daily lives and work. It might not be as widespread as everyone owning a smartphone, but it is moving in the right direction. Unlike the early years when AI came onto the scene (when it was more exciting), today, AI is more widely accepted and adopted daily. Like I said before, it might not always be evident to us, but it is there, even in tiny ways. For those who constantly worry about it coming, let me just burst your bubble; it is already here.

It is also essential for us to learn to embrace something that is already here. Though it isn't being used in 100% of everything we interact with daily, we need to understand and accept that there is no escaping it. The only choice that you or I have right now is whether or not we will embrace the change and roll with it. Or do we fall behind?

Enable Us to Focus on the More Important Aspects of Our Work

Finally, the last point I want to make about embracing and adopting AI into our lives is that it can help us be more effective and efficient at our jobs. By helping us speed up specific processes and workflows, AI will indirectly enable us to free up more time and mental capacity to focus on things that should carry more value in our lives. I will continue to say this repeatedly: I genuinely believe that AI isn't here to replace us but to enhance and empower us. Choosing to embrace AI in my work and thought process has enabled me to speed things up many times. Only after I have had this personal and professional experience do I begin to understand its actual value.

Using AI as a part of our work isn't just about asking ChatGPT random, simple questions. It is more than that. It is about putting careful thought into the questions we want to ask and the problem we are trying to solve. As much as we need to keep learning to get better at our skills, these AI tools will also need to learn more to provide us with better and more accurate answers. I realised that yesterday in just under 8 hours. The more context and information you can provide so the system can learn, the better and more precise the answer/response will be. It needs to be trained the same way that we do.

Over time, I can only imagine how beneficial these AI tools can be. But only if we're willing to embrace it into our lives and our work.

Closing Thoughts

Are you also using AI-related tools in your daily life and work? How has it helped you so far? What do you think about how helpful these AI tools can be? Please share with me in the comments below.