As artificial intelligence continues to advance, its impact on our lives can be a source of anxiety. Will it upend the job market? Will it be used against us in some unforeseen way? While these concerns are not entirely unfounded, they may not be fully justified either, experts say.

The release of ChatGPT, a chatbot from Microsoft-backed OpenAI, has put the remarkable strides in artificial intelligence (AI) technology on full display over the past few months.

It has led to both wonder and fear over its potential benefits and downsides, with some industry leaders and academics calling for a halt to AI’s further development until proper safeguards are implemented.

Even though the EU is edging closer towards the world’s first comprehensive legislation regulating the technology, including addressing copyright concerns raised by content creators, governments from the US to China are still mostly playing catch-up.

Italy outright banned ChatGPT over privacy concerns, a decision it has now reversed after OpenAI reportedly met its demands. The technology’s potential misuse for misinformation and criminal purposes is also a cause for concern.

AI can now crack half of common passwords in less than a minute, according to one study. According to another, cybercriminals already leverage chatbots like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard to distribute malware and steal sensitive user data.

Still, the fear of losing one’s job to a robot is giving the general public the most anxiety about AI, experts agree in interviews with Cybernews. They say that responsible development practices and government regulation can alleviate these fears.

Disruptive force

The prospect of AI replacing humans across industries, potentially leading to mass unemployment and economic instability, can be a particularly daunting one.

ChatGPT has been found to be capable of passing US medical licensing exams “comfortably within the passing range,” a paper from Ansible Health said, and can pass a bar exam “with a score around the top 10% of test takers,” as per OpenAI’s own study.

"AI is intrinsically about revolution, not technology, and will naturally lead to some tension," Gege Gatt, chief executive of an AI company EBO, told Cybernews.

According to Goldman Sachs, AI could replace 300 million full-time jobs over a 10-year period, even while it’s projected to drive a 7%, or almost $7 trillion, increase in global GDP.

An earlier, pre-ChatGPT report by the World Economic Forum estimated that AI and automation could displace 85 million jobs globally by 2025. However, it also suggested that 97 million new roles could emerge as a result.

Automating “grunt work” so that humans can focus on analysis and creativity could be a “huge boon to society,” according to Daniel Reichman, a machine learning engineer at the helm of Ai-RGUS, an AI security firm.

Piyush Patel from Algolia, a search engine built on AI algorithms, seconds that, noting that the AI will eventually be seen as a “tool to be utilized, rather than a replacement,” much in the same way earlier technological improvements were.

“The same thing happened when spreadsheets came about. Everyone thought accountants were over. It just allowed them to do more,” Patel said.

It doesn’t mean the transition will be easy for everyone. “Today’s generation will have their careers and roles change more often than yesterday’s – and far fewer times than any generations to come,” he added.

AI trust

AI could also exacerbate existing inequalities, further widening the gap between the rich and the poor. That’s because those with the means and access to resources are more likely to benefit from it than those without.

Jo Ann Oravec, a professor of information technology and business education at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, warns of the potential misuse of AI in surveillance and policing efforts.

"Members of the police force who are human can certainly make mistakes, but AI-enhanced entities could severely negatively affect communities through their potentially biased or poorly-informed actions," she said.

This fear is not unfounded, given the examples of biased algorithms reinforcing societal disparities, including on race. Governments, regulatory bodies, and AI companies have a vital role in assuaging these concerns.

Adopting responsible AI development practices and ethical guidelines, as well as ensuring that AI systems align with human values and prevent biases, could foster more trust in the technology.

"As long as technology platforms have specific elements of accountability and have addressed external risks, then I feel that we have an obligation to harness their great power as a vector of positive socio-political change," Gatt said.

‘Viewpoint radicalization’

Addressing AI-induced anxieties requires a multifaceted approach on both individual and societal levels. Education plays a crucial role; encouraging digital literacy can help combat fears stemming from misinformation and exaggeration.

Individuals can empower themselves by learning about AI and its implications, enabling informed decision-making. The need for human skills should not be underestimated, even in the age of AI.

"Even though the ChatGPT output will be useful in many circumstances, it will still need to be proofed and checked by humans," Oravec said.

Media and popular culture have a significant impact on molding public perceptions of AI. Gatt believes that a balanced viewpoint is often missing, and a magnified perception of threat prevails.

"This viewpoint radicalization leads to confusion and uncertainty as there is an absence of a clear, coherent narrative which society can anchor on," he said.

According to a survey by DISQO, self-reported knowledge about AI-generated tools is very low. Only less than 10% of respondents said they had high knowledge of these tools, with the number dropping below 5% in certain audiences including older adults, women, or people with a high-school education and lower incomes.

This limited understanding of AI fuels fears, and it is important to realize that the technology itself has limitations, according to Reichman, a machine learning engineer.

He stressed the importance of open discussions and recognizing that the technology cannot yet fully navigate the complexities of the real world. "Human discretion and empathy are extremely difficult to define and understand," he said.