Three Reasons to be Afraid of AI (Part 2)

Last week I started the discussion around the fear of the unknown leading to many people having a anxiety about Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. You can find that post HERE.

It’s not just that we don’t know where AI is going.  It’s that we don’t know how quickly we’ll get there.  Technology advances always bring about change but the pace at which AI is evolving is unlike anything previously.

As an example, think of the internet.  It revolutionized how we communicate, conduct commerce, interact socially, and so much more.  But the adoption and integration of the internet into society took the better part of three decades.  There was plenty of time to adjust, adapt, and understand the technology.

AI doesn’t work like that.  New Models, applications, and capabilities are emerging almost daily.  Earlier this month at GradLeaders annual conference, Connections 2025, the keynote speaker more than once during his presentation said something to the effect of, “I need to update this slide.  It’s two weeks old.”  The pace at which this is moving leaves many feeling overwhelmed.  Some examples:

• Job displacement – we know AI is or has the capability to automate many tasks.  While some argue that it will create new jobs, the transition could be disruptive and the concern of my job being the next affected is painful to think about.
• Ethical concerns – there are serious ethical questions to consider (bias and privacy concerns among others).  Are we developing these powerful tools faster than we can understand their implications?
• Society Impact – It’s clear that AI will affect every area we can think of.  Moving so fast makes me wonder if we’re ready for all of these changes.  And even if we are, is there time to think about potential consequences of these changes?

Society has experienced many transformations over the years and I’m sure there were concerns along the way and some people quite fearful of the changes.  It seems we’ve made it through each time, even though many were not able to grasp the full scope of what was happening, which can be scary.  Will the AI revolution be different?

Fear of the unknown and the sheer volume and velocity of information and change can be overwhelming.  Next week I’ll complete the series by discussing the human element (or lack thereof) leading to anxiety over AI.

Update: Click Here to access Part 3 of this post.