Recently, the internet has been comparing AI to a type of “plant,” where each time we “water” it, it grows, and AI takes over. It’s a simple analogy, but it’s concerning. Every time we use AI, we are giving power to something that could harm us. It could be seen as overly dramatic and unnecessary, but at the same time, it’s a valid point.
In the “fruit AI” trend, videos of fruits being sliced, peeled and transformed using AI are streaming. They look real enough to trick your brain into thinking it’s real. The thing that AI is a tool that is meant to help us and do positive things is no longer the case. It is helping to create reality that people are living.
Let’s be honest: Is AI “killing us slowly”, or are we simply uncomfortable with the pace at which it is changing?
This fear is something every generation has felt, be it the invention of the television, the creation of the video game, the rise of social media, or now the emergence of AI technology. While it’s true the technology is different, and the way it adapts and “thinks” is quite powerful, the fear is much more prevalent than the fact.
Relying on a technology does call our own creative and critical thinking faculties into question. It is true. But if we write and create and decide using AI and write and create and decide using AI and let’s AI decide everything for us, we could indeed lose some of our own abilities, not because AI is attacking, but because we are opting for convenience and not put in any real effort.
That said, a broader viewpoint does not always get spoken about.
Life, irrespective of anything, is on a clock. We’re “dying slowly” in a natural sense and AI as a technology, evolving, isn’t going to end us if we use it as per our needs. End of the day, God says it’s time, it’s time. None of us can control that. It is a fact that no app, no algorithm, no technology is powerful enough to override that.
So perhaps AI isn’t necessarily the question that needs to be focused on. Perhaps the bigger question is about our choices while we still can, use AI.
AI has the capability of either dulling our mental faculties, or of sharpening them. It can detract from effort, or It can aid effort. It all depends on the way effort gets balanced. Merely stopping further advancement out of fear will not work for AI, and neither will ignoring and not engaging with the technology.
AI is not a dangerous or fear inducing plant that we need to avoid. It is a plant that requires focused management to ensure it’s growth. The truth is AI is not growing on its own, we are the ones watering it, and AI will keep growing as long as we keep watering it.
And that means we still have control over what it becomes.
