Are You Learning About AI, or Just Learning to Fear It?

How curiosity, firsthand experience, and a little critical thinking can help us form our own opinions about artificial intelligence.

I love to read. Fiction, nonfiction, cookbooks – I read it all. I’m always looking for my next good book. I also love technology, so earlier this year, I decided to combine those two interests by creating a custom GPT called “Find Your Next Great Read.”

I designed it to ask a few questions about someone’s reading preferences, identify patterns, and suggest books they might enjoy. I thought it would be a fun tool for anyone who loves to read.

When I told a friend about it, our conversation took an unexpected turn. She brought up a recent 60 Minutes segment about AI-powered humanoid robots and the potential dangers of artificial intelligence.

We went from talking about books to talking about robots in less than 60 seconds.

I wasn’t upset that my friend had concerns about AI. I have concerns, too. But the conversation got me thinking about how we form our opinions about technology, particularly something as unfamiliar and rapidly changing as artificial intelligence.

Are We Getting the Whole Picture?

When we’re concerned about AI’s potential for harm, we may pay more attention to information that reinforces those concerns. When we’re excited about its possibilities, we may be drawn to stories about medical discoveries, productivity, and creativity. In both cases, we can be consuming perfectly credible information while still missing important parts of the picture.

We are all susceptible to confirmation bias – our tendency to favor information that supports what we already believe. It’s often easier to recognize it in someone else’s thinking than in our own.

There’s certainly no shortage of troubling stories about AI. We hear about students using it to cheat, the possibility of job displacement, privacy concerns, and the spread of misinformation.

These are legitimate issues that deserve serious attention and appropriate safeguards. But evidence that a technology can be misused isn’t necessarily a reason to reject every application of it.

I think those concerns make understanding AI even more important.

What I Learned by Trying It Myself

When I first experimented with ChatGPT a few years ago, I wasn’t particularly impressed. I played around with tools that promised to write entire blog posts or create a month’s worth of social media content from just a few words.

The results weren’t very good, and I quickly lost interest.

Eventually, I tried it again when I saw some potential uses for a work project. This time, I found it much more helpful. For a while, it became a game of sorts. I kept looking for unexpected ways to use it. 

What fascinates me most about AI is the way it can recognize patterns and help me explore my own thinking.

Sometimes I’ll explain a situation and ask ChatGPT to help me consider perspectives I might be overlooking. I don’t always agree with its suggestions. But the back-and-forth can help me recognize connections or question an assumption.

I still make the decisions for myself.

I’ve also discovered its limitations. I’ve followed detailed, confident instructions from ChatGPT only to find they didn’t work. That taught me an important lesson: AI can sound convincing even when it’s wrong.

Looking back, I realize I didn’t begin experimenting with AI because I understood how useful it might become. I began to understand its possibilities – and its limitations – because I experimented with it.

Three Simple Ways to Explore AI for Yourself

You don’t need a complicated project or any technical knowledge to begin exploring ChatGPT. I’d recommend starting with something familiar that you already enjoy.

Start with an Interest or Hobby

If you love gardening, ask ChatGPT about plants that might work in a shady area of your yard. If you love to read, describe a few favorite books and ask for recommendations beyond the bestseller lists. Notice whether the suggestions reflect what you’ve told it, and check unfamiliar facts or titles before relying on them.

Ask It to Explain a Document

Find the instruction manual for an appliance you own, such as an air fryer or coffee maker. You can often download a PDF from the manufacturer’s website. Upload it to ChatGPT and ask it to explain a feature or set of instructions in plain English. Then compare its explanation with the original manual. This is a simple way to discover both how helpful AI can be and why it’s important to check its answers.

Use It to Think Through a Decision

Maybe you’ve been hosting Thanksgiving dinner for years, but lately it’s feeling like more work than fun. You could tell ChatGPT what’s going on and bounce around some ideas for doing things differently. You might not like half of its suggestions, but one could get you thinking about something you hadn’t considered. Sometimes that’s all it takes to figure out what you really want to do.

Keep your experiments low-stakes. Avoid sharing personal or sensitive information, and verify anything important through trustworthy sources.

Learn to Question What You’re Hearing

Firsthand experience is only part of becoming informed about AI. When you encounter a troubling AI story, look beyond the headline. Find out what actually happened, which technology was involved, and whether the concern applies broadly or to a particular use.

Consider the source, too, and pay attention to whether it’s reporting verified information, offering an opinion, or making predictions about what might happen. Apply the same scrutiny to positive stories. AI companies have reasons to promote their products, just as critics may emphasize potential problems. 

The goal isn’t to collect more talking points about AI, whether positive or negative. It’s to develop enough understanding to make informed judgments of our own.

Be Curious and Stay Informed

You might think you don’t use AI, but you’ve likely already encountered it in familiar tools, from search engines and smartphones to email and photo editing. AI is becoming part of everyday life, whether we choose to use ChatGPT or not.

For those of us with children or grandchildren, understanding AI can help us talk with them about it, too. Instead of just warning them about the dangers, we can share what we’ve learned, hear about their experiences, and figure out together where it makes sense to use it and where it doesn’t.

I’m not suggesting we should trust AI blindly. I think we should be curious enough to explore it and skeptical enough to question what it tells us. 

We don’t have to love AI. But we shouldn’t let fear decide for us before we’ve had a chance to understand it.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

What scares you most about using AI? Have you learned about possible ways to protect yourself from particular scenarios?