Opinion: Social media offers an AI warning

The development of AI and robotics pose a danger not only to children but to adults and society as well, according to this writer. (Wix file photo)

By Rod Haxton

Meta’s $17 billion settlement resulting from a lawsuit filed by 47 states (on top of previous settlements), is a partial acknowledgement of the harms being inflicted upon society by social media platforms.

While the lawsuit was focused on our young people, adults have been equally affected by the addictive nature of social media. The lawsuit confirmed the means by which Meta and other platforms have intentionally targeted young people, knowing that once they have been captured they have an audience for life.

Of course, Meta admits no wrong-doing. Isn’t that always the case?

But doing right is not a priority for Meta and other social media platforms. The goal is to maximize profits in whatever way possible and from whomever possible.

We’ve been down this path before. Even as the medical evidence mounted, along with the cancer deaths, Big Tobacco was never deterred from seeking huge profits regardless of the human toll.

Social media is no less righteous, no less determined to do the same.

“Kids deserve a childhood that isn’t measured in likes and followers,” said Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman “The online protections delivered by this settlement will bring a generational change that will make social media platforms safer.”

If only that were the case.

The harms caused by social media pale in comparison to what awaits us with AI. And, as with social media, we have lawmakers ill-prepared to comprehend what’s happening and to erect necessary guardrails.

Instead, we have a low-intelligent president who is doing the bidding for the tech firms behind AI while lawmakers and investors are eager to chase the dollars without pausing to identify the risks.

Meanwhile, as communities rise against AI for various reasons, they are criticized for impeding progress.

Progress? Like we saw with social media?

Bill Gates, who has been at the forefront of AI, has since advised putting on the brakes while also admitting it may be too late. He acknowledges the political and economic forces have gained such momentum they may be impossible to slow down.

He warns about massive unemployment that will exceed anything this nation saw during the Great Depression - and be far more lasting. Young people who already feel they have no future with the current economy will feel even further disenfranchised under an AI economy.

In an essay, Gates says that many Americans have no clue as to how quickly dexterous robots are advancing because much of the advanced work is being done in other countries, primarily China.

Once robots and AI become integrated and accepted, there’s no stopping the impact because no business or industry can afford to be left behind. Given the choice between AI and people, the human race will lose every time.

“In a capitalist society, employment is the way most people get the money they need to pay for the basics of life as well as being a key source of dignity and social connection,” Gates says in an essay.

What happens when that is gone?

But then Gates delves into his fears for young people.

AI could stunt our kids’ development and replace human relationships - something we’re already seeing with young people and adults. AI companions inhibit social and emotional

development. Imagine a “helicopter parent,” but exponentially more pervasive and controlling.

“They don’t push you outside your comfort zone. They are always available and never get mad at you. This gives them the potential to become highly addictive and to rob us of the lessons we learn from connecting with other people,” Gates warns.

In one study of more than 1,100 people who use AI companions, researchers at Stanford and Carnegie Mellon found that those with smaller social networks were the most likely to turn to a chatbot for companionship. And the heavier and more emotionally personal that use became, the worse they felt.

Just as worrisome, we are on the verge of creating generations of young people incapable of coping with everyday challenges.

In his book “The Anxious Generation,” Jonathan Haidt warns how AI is a far greater threat than social media: “Like young trees exposed to wind, children who are routinely exposed to small risks grow up to become adults who can handle much larger risks without panicking. Conversely, children who are raised in a protected greenhouse sometimes become incapacitated by anxiety before they reach maturity.”

The economic, social, psychological and political impacts of AI can’t be fully comprehended. And yet, we are careening blindly into this uncertain future without knowing what awaits us on the other side.

Rod Haxton is publisher of The Scott County

Record. He can be reached at editor@screcord.com