What AI Should Never Be Used For

Artificial intelligence has taken the world by storm.  

AI represents a new age of intellect, and many believe that it can make life better for humanity. Despite AI’s benefits, it should never be used to fabricate academic papers, replace personal creativity, supplant genuine relationships or override careers. 

AI has become increasingly more prevalent in modern society. It boasts a wide array of functions, in the well-known forms of Siri, Alexa and ChatGPT, and is now also integrated into Google’s technology.  

Even social media has adopted AI chatbots people can talk to. Instagram offers hundreds of user-created themed characters for people to interact with, some curated to look and speak like real people. Snapchat’s “My AI” chatbot is customizable and permanently pinned to the top of user’s chat lists unless they pay for Snapchat+ to remove it. 

A future with AI flooding our screens and search engines threatens genuine human interactions and the opportunity to truly learn without receiving instantaneous answers to questions.  

According to Education Week, more teachers are seeing a shift as students turn away from computer generated work thanks to the Turnitin platform that detects AI use in writing.  

Academic writing should display proof of learning through originality from the student’s knowledge on a particular topic. When gathering information, all sources should be credible and ethically sourced through reliable records.  

Textbooks and established databases are requirements for a reason, as AI platforms often give students incorrect answers. Collecting research from sources written and reviewed by human experts will serve students much better than risking a grade on AI fabrications. 

Furthermore, AI should not be given enough attention in social forums to impede real friendships by creating a false sense of companionship.     

According to Built In, an overdependence on AI could result in diminished social skills, as many become disengaged with reality and glued to their phone screens. Instead of prioritizing human interaction, many may resort to AI with their questions and concerns. In my experience, distracting devices take away from building up friendships; they slowly degrade our ability to live in the moment and accomplish daily tasks without a constant stream of entertainment. 

Another large concern regarding AI is its impact on the professional workplace. Despite companies perceiving the use of this technology as efficient and cost effective, AI should never be used to replace someone’s career and disrupt their livelihood. Products of human creativity have also been threatened by the progression of technology, as AI can generate stories, art and other creative works with only a brief instructional prompt.  

Real world pushback has occurred in response to this uprising of technology, as seen in the 2023 Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike. The unethical use of AI was a tangible fear for many movie and television writers as they fought to maintain their positions on entertainment writing staffs according to Reuters. They wanted to ensure that their careers would not be stolen, and their work not be used to help train AI.  

According to Built In, “AI-powered job automation” is beginning to take over career fields, including “marketing, manufacturing and healthcare.” In the next decade, this will most prominently impact those who work in these fields.  

As of right now, companies need people with strong interpersonal skills that AI cannot (yet) fulfill. However, as AI becomes more advanced, many companies will utilize its benefits, and people’s careers will be at risk.  

At some point AI will impact every person, either in their careers or as it becomes more and more integrated in daily life.  

But how should we as Christians approach AI? In my personal estimation, it disrupts and inhibits our natural ability — and God’s command — for us to make an impact on other people’s lives. It certainly moves technology forward, but at the expense of humanity, while also creating a dependency that God never intended for anyone to have.  

Christians should strive to maintain the humanity God perfectly designed by learning from one another by relying on him for guidance, not a soulless, artificial machine.  

Sanford is an opinion reporter for the Liberty Champion.