{"id":77359,"date":"2025-06-25T00:19:27","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T04:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/world.edu\/?p=77359"},"modified":"2025-06-25T00:19:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T04:19:27","slug":"heres-why-the-public-needs-to-challenge-the-good-ai-myth-pushed-by-tech-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/world.edu\/heres-why-the-public-needs-to-challenge-the-good-ai-myth-pushed-by-tech-companies\/","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s why the public needs to challenge the \u2018good AI\u2019 myth pushed by tech companies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

While there\u2019s been much negative discussion about AI, including on the possibility that it will take over the world, the public is also being bombarded with\u00a0positive messages<\/a>\u00a0about the technology, and\u00a0what it can do<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This \u201cgood AI\u201d myth is a key tool\u00a0used by<\/a>\u00a0tech companies\u00a0to promote<\/a>\u00a0their products. Yet there\u2019s evidence that consumers are\u00a0wary of the presence<\/a>\u00a0of AI in some products. This means that positive promotion of AI may be putting unwanted pressure on people to accept the use of AI in their lives.<\/p>\n

AI is becoming so ubiquitous that people may be losing their ability to say no to using it. It\u2019s in smartphones, smart TVs, smart speakers like Alexa and virtual assistants like Siri. We\u2019re constantly told that our privacy will be protected. But with the personal nature of the data that AI has access to in these devices, can we afford to trust such assurances?<\/p>\n

Some politicians also propagate the \u201cgood AI\u201d promise\u00a0with immense conviction<\/a>, mirroring the messages coming from tech companies.<\/p>\n

My current research is partly explained in a new book called the\u00a0The Myth of Good AI<\/a>. This research shows that the data feeding our AI systems is biased, as it often over-represents privileged sections of the population and mainstream attitudes.<\/p>\n

This means that any AI products that don\u2019t include data from marginalised people, or minorities, might discriminate against them. This explains why AI systems continue to be riddled with\u00a0racism<\/a>, ageism and various forms of gender discrimination, for instance.<\/p>\n

The speed with which this technology is impinging on our everyday life, makes it very hard to properly assess the consequences. And an approach to AI that is more critical of how it works does not make for good marketing for the tech companies.<\/p>\n

Power structures<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Positive ideas about AI and its abilities are currently dominating all aspects of AI innovation. This is partly determined by state interests and by the\u00a0profit margins of the tech companies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

These are tied into the power structures held up by tech multi-billionaires, and, in some places, their influence on governments.\u00a0The relationship<\/a>\u00a0between Donald Trump and Elon Musk, despite its recent souring, is a vivid manifestation of this.<\/p>\n

And so, the public is at the receiving end of a distinctly hierarchical top-down system, from the big tech companies and their governmental enablers to users. In this way, we are made to consume, with little to no influence over how the technology is used. This positive AI ideology is therefore primarily about\u00a0money and power<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As it stands, there is no global movement with a unifying manifesto that would bring together societies to leverage AI for the benefit of communities of people, or to safeguard our right to privacy. This\u00a0\u201cright to be left alone\u201d<\/a>, codified in the US constitution and international human rights law, is a central pillar of my argument. It is also something that is almost entirely absent from the assurances about AI made by the big tech companies.<\/p>\n

Yet, some of the risks of the technology are already evident. A\u00a0database<\/a>\u00a0compiling cases in which lawyers around the world used AI, identified 157 cases in which false AI-generated information \u2013 so called hallucinations \u2013 skewed legal rulings.<\/p>\n

Some forms of AI can also be manipulated to\u00a0blackmail<\/a>\u00a0and extort, or create\u00a0blueprints<\/a>\u00a0for murder and terrorism.<\/p>\n

Tech companies need to programme the algorithms with data that represents everyone, not just the privileged, in order to reduce discrimination. In this way, the public are not forced to give into the consensus that AI will solve many of our problems, without proper supervision by society. This distinction between the ability to think creatively, ethically and intuitively may be the most fundamental faultline between human and machine.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s up to ordinary people to question the\u00a0good AI<\/a>\u00a0myth. A critical approach to AI should contribute to the creation of more socially relevant and responsible technology, a technology that is\u00a0already trialled<\/a>\u00a0in torture scenarios, as the book discusses, too.<\/p>\n

The point at which AI systems would outdo us in every task is expected to be a decade or so away. In the meantime there needs to be resistance to this attack on our right to privacy, and more awareness of just how AI works.<\/p>\n

Author Bio: <\/strong>Arshin Adib-Moghaddam is Professor in Global Thought and Comparative Philosophies, Director of Centre for AI Futures, SOAS at the University of London<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While there\u2019s been much negative discussion about AI, including on the possibility that it will take over the world, the public is also being bombarded with\u00a0positive messages\u00a0about the technology, and\u00a0what it can do. This \u201cgood AI\u201d myth is a key tool\u00a0used by\u00a0tech companies\u00a0to promote\u00a0their products. Yet there\u2019s evidence that consumers are\u00a0wary of the presence\u00a0of AI […]\n… learn more→<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[434804],"tags":[435408],"coauthors":[11733],"class_list":["post-77359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-good-ai"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHere\u2019s why the public needs to challenge the \u2018good AI\u2019 myth pushed by tech companies - World leading higher education information and services<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/world.edu\/heres-why-the-public-needs-to-challenge-the-good-ai-myth-pushed-by-tech-companies\/\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Here\u2019s why the public needs to challenge the \u2018good AI\u2019 myth pushed by tech companies - World leading higher education information and services\" class=\"yoast-seo-meta-tag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"While there\u2019s been much negative discussion about AI, including on the possibility that it will take over the world, the public is also being bombarded with\u00a0positive messages\u00a0about the technology, and\u00a0what it can do. This \u201cgood AI\u201d myth is a key tool\u00a0used by\u00a0tech companies\u00a0to promote\u00a0their products. 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