The debate over artificial intelligence seems to never end. Will it take over jobs? Will it turn against us? Does its environmental harm outweigh its helpfulness?
AI has quickly become a part of our reality, and it has made our lives much easier. The technology has become embedded in everyday life across generations. From young adults using chatbots to search for information to older adults learning how to utilize AI tools to speed up everyday tasks, people of all ages are interacting with the technology.
We know AI is an extraordinary tool — but we also know its consequences.
On Sept. 8, AI researcher Jacob Coxon resigned from his role at Anthropic due to his unease over AI companies eventually losing control over their software. Coxon’s resignation sparked concern from other AI company employees that developers are improving AI models too quickly. Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic, echoed Coxon’s urgency to slow AI development. Amodei even published an essay called “We Must Pace the Frontier” Sept. 18, which explained his plan to monitor and evaluate the safety of AI development.
While the past week’s events have inflicted fear, it’s not the first time someone has expressed concern over AI. We are used to whistleblowers who reveal the risks.
But what are we actually doing with this information?
People have shown surprising apathy when it comes to the dangers of AI. More than half of Americans highly rate AI’s risks, yet about three-quarters admit they continue to use it for everyday tasks. They lack the initiative to take action. Users are fed the information, like Coxon’s resignation from Anthropic, and believe they are exempt from the issue at hand. They all think: “One person can’t make a difference, so what’s the point?”
Yes, AI is convenient and makes life much easier. But that’s not an excuse to continue using it after recognizing it’s harmful. Reacting to whistleblowers with concern is incredibly hypocritical when AI is still constantly being used despite the warnings. The hypocrisy of the situation makes it hard to take people seriously when they express unease over AI use.
Continuing to use AI out of convenience is much easier than confronting the consequences behind it. As humans, we are always searching for something to improve our lives. It's difficult to believe something that achieves this goal is so harmful. We finally created a technology that can seemingly do everything for us. Perhaps withholding this technology scares people more than the dangers behind it.
This hypocrisy reveals that we are willing to put our desires over our sense of morality. It’s an internal struggle to recognize something we desire may be wrong. In this instance, we desire convenience, which AI provides. But the reality is AI is harmful and dangerous, and we are willing to ignore this for what it offers us.
We do not need more whistleblowers to point out the problem. Everyone is aware AI has serious and long-lasting consequences. What we need is not to just hear these warnings, but actually listen to them.
We cannot approach the situation with apathy; we need to approach it with the passion to take action.
Contact Ella Finkelstein at efinkelstein@alligator.org. Follow her on X @Ellamfink.
Ella Finkelstein is a second year majoring in Journalism and minoring in Innovation. This is her first semester working on the Alligator staff.
