When people hear the word “AI”, everyone immediately thinks of robots and how they will take over our world. AI provides both benefits and harms to our society, increasing productivity in the workplace while simultaneously decreasing job openings and opportunities for people.
Now, how does AI affect the world of media? We know that AI maximizes production and results without humans putting in much effort, but what is the impact towards media as a whole? Currently, social media is the medium that connects us all, from spreading news and awareness on various issues to meeting new people from all over the world. Nowadays, social media is a glimpse into people’s lives, and especially with multiple accounts from various social media platforms, one can find a lot about another person strictly through social media. In a way, social media has already taken over our lives in that many people feel obligated to constantly update social media and comment on what their friends are doing.
AI has made tedious activities on social media, such as searching, filtering, targeting, and engaging, extremely easy for us to do. For example, without any knowledge of how to use Facebook, one can find a person who is a similar age that lives near their area. AI has made searching and assisting users simpler and effortless. Chatbots are prime examples of AI vastly changing social media and shifting it in another direction. Instead of asking a real person for help online, most helpers on social media are all bots (AI).
All our interactions are slowly becoming digital and “fake”. Since our lives are practically displayed on social media, and we look to social media for all news and entertainment, it raises the question of if we are dependent on AI. Constantly posting pictures with friends, reminding people of events, and engaging in on multiple conversations, we live our lives on social media. Slowly, we are losing the ability to communicate with other people in real life due to our comfort and the power of an online presence.
Overall, AI does make our lives easier by having menial tasks, such as searching, targeting, and filtering, done for us, however it does make us, as a human race, dependent on AI and technology in general. From the roots and beginnings of this technology, the goal of AI was to make technology function in an intelligent manner where it helps solve challenging problems and complications. However, AI has evolved so quickly that it has far reached its goal and gradually invading, and in the end, controlling our lives through social media and online presence.
