by Zoe Zorka
These days, you can hardly go anywhere or do anything without hearing something about the developing science of AI, and just how the AI industry promises (or threatens) to transform and revolutionise the world with hundreds of curated tools.
There are plenty of concerns and implications regarding these tools, and many key public figures, over the years, have predicted that AI might just doom us all.
At the same time, though, the smartest online bots are already showcasing plenty of capacity to be potentially useful, and all sorts of machine learning systems have already massively streamlined the way in which certain industries work.
So, should you use advanced AI programs or not? Well, here are some questions to ask yourself.
Do you prefer to have control of your data and where it goes, or are you comfortable with it being used harvested?
One criticism that has been made of increasingly complex digital programs – not to mention the movement of virtually all data to the cloud – is that, when using such systems, we no longer have control over our data. Nor do we even have a clear sense of where it goes and what happens to it.
Some people are less concerned about this than others. But it’s important to consider, whenever you are about to use an advanced AI program, that it will be collecting, analysing, storing, and reporting your data in ways that you have no idea of.
On the other hand, certain less-advanced desktop programs, and old-fashioned paper notebooks, keep your data exactly where you can see it and nowhere else. But, of course, they lack the features of the more highly advanced tools.
Are you trying to free up time that would have been spent on “mundane” tasks, or are you trying to optimise your work in a skilled domain?
All of the most sophisticated AI and machine learning programs in use today still require a good degree of human oversight in order to ensure that they don’t cause some kind of serious damage.
One implication of this is that these tools are generally best used for automating and freeing up time that would otherwise have been spent on “mundane” tasks in your professional personal life. Entering large quantities of data into spreadsheets, for example.
A question to ask, then, is; are you primarily trying to free up time in that domain? Or, are you trying to optimise your work in a more skilled domain?
As Cal Newport has pointed out, deep, skilled work is the kind of thing that you want to be completely focused on, yourself. Not the kind of thing you should try to or outsource to your tools.
Do you have a compelling reason to use those tools, or are you just caught up in the novelty?
Here’s the rub: a lot of advanced AI tools are popular, primarily, because they seem cool and give people a sense of being at the cutting-edge of things.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a compelling reason to use those tools, or that they will have a net positive effect on your productivity, or life.
Always try to honestly evaluate your motivations and make a pragmatic decision.
