AI is one of the most defining things of this generation. It is integrated into many aspects of our day-to-day lives. Conducting a quick Google search? Instead of just websites popping up, there is now an AI overview of your search. Snapchatting your friends? Just one click away is your Snapchat AI. This large scale integration of AI to every day tasks begs the question – is AI helpful or harmful?

AI is a powerful tool and can easily be misused. One topic that gets brought up frequently is AI and academic dishonesty. The ability to just type one singular question into a program like ChatGPT opens up the floodgates for opportunities to cheat. You could even make AI write a whole essay for you by typing in a few words. AI use also just keeps getting harder to spot as programs have become increasingly smarter. Teachers now have to go out of their way to look for signs of their students using AI on assignments. This adds more responsibilities to the long lists teachers already have. 

Furthermore, as AI keeps advancing, it influences people’s decision-making heavily. Typing a question into ChatGPT or Google Gemini will provide an answer, but that answer may not always be accurate or correct. Inaccurate answers from AI are commonly referred to as “hallucinations”. Hallucinations can lead to misinformation being spread and the wrong ideas being put into people’s heads.

AI is also incredibly harmful to the environment. Just inputting one prompt into ChatGPT requires a large amount of electricity, which results in thousands of carbon emissions being put into the atmosphere. Large amounts of water are also required to cool the AI’s hardware. This water being used can take away water supplies and harm local ecosystems. If people keep using AI at the current volume, it could lead to detrimental effects on the ecosystem. 

Overall, AI is more harmful than beneficial. It has severe implications on several aspects of society, whether it be environmental or educational.