Somya Jain
Instant Information, is something we look for in this era of digital media. The information that we gain through various media platforms is what we used to highly rely on, majorly we still do. But the invention of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made the concept of instant information too instant. How? Well, that is not a difficult question to pose or to answer. Gone are the days when people used to rush to the libraries, read encyclopedias to find just a bit of information, But is it reliable enough? Can it replace the media we have been watching, listening to, or reading? This is the question that we need an answer to.
Whatever the task is, be it writing a cover letter for a job application, writing a LinkedIn bio, reframing an article, writing a research proposal, article to meet the close deadline, and whatnot. Some of you might think that the reason I am stating these examples is maybe because I have done it. Well, to clarify that, yes, I have done it. I have used Chat GPT for all such purposes and I do not regret it. My curiosity, my inability to work under pressure, and my restricting deadlines made me do it.
Getting a whole article written in just a few seconds is relieving but it is not the information we can rely on. AI has hampered our habit of going that extra mile to get work done. After seeing today’s scenario, it is safe to say that we are efficient because of the efficiency of AI. Habits don’t die easy and AI has become our habit to consume any sort of information. Writing a research proposal without researching shows how dependent we have become on instant information. Virtual assistants like Siri, Bixby, and Alexa, assist us in answering questions, providing recommendations, and problem-solving as well.
There is a principle called the pleasure principle, on which most of the psychology models work. In these models, humans are believed to act upon the same principle. Basically, it is a driving force for instant gratification. This compels humans to fulfill their needs right then. In simple terms, “I want it and I want it right now”. The urge to fulfill their needs, be it basic ones like eating, drinking, or just a need to buy an expensive new phone. Today, the need for information comes under the same category of needs that has to be fulfilled the same moment it is asked. The instant gratification of information has become very common and AI is able to fulfill it in the best way possible.
It is an established fact that AI has revolutionalized the way we consume information. Every day I come across several posts on social media platforms like LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. in which “The best ways to use Chat GPT”, “Which AI for what?”, “AI-generated images”, and other things related to it are explained. People have started conducting a proper courses to teach the correct ways of using AI. The ability of AI to provide instant information has reshaped the landscape of knowledge acquisition. It has opened the floodgates of information and placed it at our fingertips.
But is it the future we are looking forward to? AI to be more emotional than humans? We all know that idea of using AI comes from our own inability to put our creative hats on and bring out something that even AI cannot. It is true that AI provides us instant information but along with this, it is also true that the idea of instant information has made us impatient. We look for everything to be done quickly, be it preparing two-minute noodles or getting information. We all know that actually they can not be cooked in two minutes. So how can we trust AI to cook reliable information in a few seconds out of a big sea of it that is present there?
With such an abundance of information, AI has blurred the lines between facts and falsehood. It is acting like a catalyst for fake news. With the advent of the Internet and the availability of so many sources of information, we are already dealing with a problem and now AI is working as a catalyst to spread the wildfire of misinformation. It might seem like AI has rendered human expertise obsolete but let us just remind ourselves that we humans are the creators of it. If we have the ability to create it, we have the ability to not fall off as its prey. Rather, collaborating with it and bringing society towards the new frontiers of knowledge will be the right way to use it, for the greater good.
Not every piece of information requires data, which mostly AI provides us with. It has no opinion of its own but we do. Its ability is limited to providing us with already existing information and not something new. But with the existing information, we have the potential to give it a new perspective which plays a role of information for the masses. Chitti, the robot, was programmed and taught to react like humans and have emotions because his ability to provide instant information and get the tasks done was not enough. We are humans, our intelligence is not artificial, it evolves and it already has to a point where we became the creators of the existing Artificial Intelligence. Let’s trade carefully and use the power of instant information to empower an interconnected world instead of living in the one created by AI.
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