[Kim Seong-kon] Maximize AI, while not being controlled by it

Suddenly, artificial intelligence has become the subject of the moment. Every day, newspaper articles announce that the era of AI has come and that our future will depend on the new technology. Indeed, AI seems to already be ubiquitous in every nook and cranny of our society. It is already the case that AI operates on our smartphones, computers and cars. Soon, we will be living in the era of AI.

In fact, AI has already become integrated into our daily lives as an indispensable tool and helpful partner these days. When we want to know about something, we consult with ChatGPT installed on our smartphones. When we Google something, Google Gemini responds to our queries. It seems that our lives heavily depend on AI now. Soon, the day will come when we confess our love to AI, saying, “What would I do without you?”

AI is not perfect yet. For instance, it still provides incorrect information from time to time. Soon, however, AI will likely become virtually impeccable. Then, it will compete with humans and replace them in many occupations, from cashiers and factory workers to teachers, doctors and judges. AI may even attempt to control us in the future, thinking that humans are inferior to it. Experts predict that even religions can be affected by AI when it becomes omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent.

Therefore, AI has both merits and flaws. For example, while AI can vastly upgrade the level of education, it can also bring some serious problems into classrooms, such as students submitting essays or reports written by AI without a sense of guilt for plagiarism. Given such problems, opinions on AI remain divided by its various pros and cons.

A recent article in Business Insider says, AI will "reshape education through personalized AI tutors," and "Teachers face rising pressure to reinvent learning as students turn to AI for answers.” The article also predicts that, due to AI, homework and grading will become obsolete. Undoubtedly, AI will bring a revolutionary change to the Korean education system, too, which is based on teaching and learning by rote.

Another article in NewsNow states, “If you think students are using generative artificial intelligence tools like Chat GPT and Google Gemini just to write papers or cheat, think again.” Then it continues, “AI is changing how kids learn, and teachers need to adapt to tap into that potential.”

On the other hand, an article in Inside Higher Ed provides a more cautious, critical view of the role of AI in education. It says, “Universities are declaring that AI is the future and that we must teach students how to master AI in order to prepare for their careers. We, faculty, are urged to leverage AI in the classroom accordingly.”

The author continues, rather cynically, “in part, it means asking faculty to think about how AI can be used to create assignments and lesson plans, how it can aid in research, and how it might help grade students’ work.” Despite the author’s somewhat negative tone, we realize that AI will force professors and teachers to change, too.

How, then, are we supposed to deal with AI? Some people are simply fascinated by it and embrace it without any reservations whatsoever. Others are critical of it and try to ignore or denounce it. Both are problematic. We should be in the middle, acknowledging the importance of AI and at the same time, not lowering our guard against the potential hazards it may cause. We do not need to be too optimistic or pessimistic.

When color TV entered the living room in the 1960s, many Americans thought that the Age of Cinema was over. They thought that nobody would go to a theater to watch a movie from then on. To overcome this crisis, Hollywood ended up making 70mm big screen movies such as “Ben-Hur” or “The Fall of the Roman Empire.” In the end, however, the movie industry has become more prosperous thanks to TV, as it has also reaped significant profits from TV, HBO, Netflix, and Amazon's Prime Video, in addition to income from theaters.

Likewise, when desktop computers first appeared, people thought that book publishing would be out of business. When e-books first appeared, people thought that printed books would be obsolete, as well. On the contrary, publishing companies and paper books are still flourishing. Some people were simply fascinated by computer technology, not heeding its potential problems. Others hated computers and denounced them. Gradually, however, we all began using computers because we need one to do virtually anything these days.

AI, too, has become indispensable to our lives, but not without some problems. It all depends on how we make use of it. Therefore, we should maximize the potential of AI, while not allowing it to control or manipulate us.

Kim Seong-kon

Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College. The views expressed here are the writer's own. -- Ed.