What is Artificial Intelligence?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a broad term that refers to human-like behavior displayed by a machine or a system. Computers are programmed to mimic human behavior using extensive data from past examples or similar behavior and tendencies. AI can preform tasks that normally would require human intelligence. AI is used in a multitude of ways like speech recognition, advancing health care, and decision making.
Design for bodies
How can AI benefit those with mental health disorders?
- Mental health professionals are using AI to improve accuracy of diagnosis and treatments.
- Therapists are using AI to help lessen workloads.
- AI is helping with quality control of treatment for training health care workers.
- New technology is helping detect signs of anxiety.
- Broadens access to mental health treatments and care.
As technology keeps advancing, we are finding more ways to improve mental health problems across the world. A recent study has found that Artificial Intelligence may be able to detect anxiety symptoms with over 92% accuracy. How you may ask? This study, published in Pervasive and Mobile Computing, retrieved data from ten participating adults in Pakistan. Their movements were recorded using motion sensors that could detect knuckle cracking, nail biting, and leg tapping; which are all behavioral indicators of anxiety.
AI could be a major help for treating patients with mental health disorders. AI engages with patients by using chat bots and intelligent agents that use natural language processing (NLP). This processing system is a technique where machines process transcripts to help improve healthcare. Benefits of this technology includes providing prevention and intervention resources, increases access to help and support between therapy and treatment sessions. This can provide more effective and personalized treatment plans.
How can AI negatively effect mental health?
While there are plenty of benefits of AI in correlation to mental health, you need to consider the negatives as well. There is a risk of people developing reliance on AI mental health technology, such as chat bots. Professionals express concern of people relying on a chatbot instead of a medical professional, which will diminish the patient-clinician therapeutic alliance. Often times people benefit more from face to face interactions, and if they become reliant on a bot this may allow them to isolate themselves without realizing it. There is also concern that AI is bias towards those with mental health issues, as AI has embedded the same biases that humans have; and unfortunately there is a lot of stigma involving around mental illness.
An article published in the journal Current Psychiatry Reports states that, “there are concerns that commercial use of emotion AI will increase stigma and discrimination and have negative consequences in daily life for people with mental illness,” the report said, adding that “commercial emotion AI algorithm predictions about mental illness should not be treated as medical fact.”
Solution
A solution to preventing reliance on mental health technology is to be aware that you are using it, and the effects it can cause. It is best used as a tool to help medical professionals, rather than completely replace them.
Design for Culture
How does Artificial Intelligence benefit society?
- AI can benefit our workplaces by being able to do the same work humans can do. This can lessen work loads to free up time, can reduce costs and save money, improve productivity, and can take over repetitive and or dangerous tasks.
- Can increase efficiency and opportunities
- AI can influence health care and majorly impact the care of patients by personalizing treatment plans and drug protocols by broadening access to information.
- Society will overall gain productivity by introducing autonomous transportation (vehicles the drive themselves). This will solve traffic issues and commute.
How does Artificial Intelligence negatively impact society?
- It can make humans lazy. Using AI to complete homework assignments or to complete tedious, repetitive tasks can become addicting. It requires us to use our brains less and less, this is more of a risk for future generations.
- AI singularity. This is described as, "a hypothetical future point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable changes to human civilization." This could potentially abolish humanity.
- Unemployment is a high risk when it comes to AI in the workplace. Advancing technology is threatening to replace humans, as they can do almost everything we can do. Robots are sometimes used to replace humans in manufacturing businesses, although this is not always the case. This could put people out of jobs because they are not needed.
Solution
A solution to prevent AI addiction is to use it with caution. Do not become reliant on technology to complete your everyday tasks, separate your independence. Ryan Sweeney, director of analytics at Ignite Social Media suggests that we need to be cautious of those who cannot afford technology to prevent tech seggreation in society. He says, “Our technology continues to evolve at a growing rate, but our society, culture and economy are not as quick to adapt. We’ll have to be careful that the benefits of AI for some do not further divide those who might not be able to afford the technology. What will that mean for our culture as more jobs are automated? We will need to consider the impact on the current class divide.”
Design for Earth
How can Artificial Intelligence benefit our economy?
A very positive aspect of AI is the power it has to fight climate change.
- Self driving cars may reduce emissions by 50% before 2050 by identifying the most efficient routes, reducing the need for gas.
- Peanut farmers in India upped their harvest by 30% by using AI technology, which allowed them to use less harmful tools that release toxins into the air.
- AI can also be utilized to provide a more accurate and analysis of satellite images. This technology can break down images and identify areas that need assistance. For example rain forest deconstruction or wild fire disasters.
Negative effects of AI in the economy
A lot of AI resources that are "sustainable" have rechargeable batteries that contribute to global warming. A lot of these batteries contain lithium, a rare metal that is used for cleaner energy sources. Unfortunately this metal is in high demand, and it requires close to 500,000 gallons of water for every ton of lithium that is extracted from the Earth. This is consuming our water sources and wet lands. These AI resources are portrayed as "sustainable" just because they are less catastrophic and harmful compared to diesel or fuel.
Solution
The Department of Energy and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is investing billions of dollars into improving lithium batteries and making them more environmentally friendly by bettering safety, energy density, and a longer lifespan.
Sources:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/12/ai-mental-health-cbt-therapy/
https://www.verywellmind.com/artificial-intelligence-could-be-the-future-of-mental-illness-detection-5213212
https://blog.telehealth.org/benefits-of-technologies-for-ai-mental-health/?utm_medium=adwords&utm_campaign=&utm_source=&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4uCcBhDdARIsAH5jyUmOe2P3dFf2VjYR9SeuWhJZb8DJDcReyduIzSnMuem7ChP8G5D3u28aAhmqEALw_wcB
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/commentary/article-artificial-intelligence-could-have-damaging-effects-on-our-mental/
https://humanmedicine.msu.edu/news/2022-emotion-ai.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CThere%20are%20concerns%20that%20commercial,be%20treated%20as%20medical%20fact.%E2%80%9D
https://bernardmarr.com/what-is-the-impact-of-artificial-intelligence-ai-on-society/#:~:text=Positive%20Impacts%20of%20Artificial%20Intelligence%20on%20Society&text=When%20AI%20takes%20over%20repetitive,creativity%20and%20empathy%20among%20others.
https://www.simplilearn.com/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-artificial-intelligence-article
https://www.cfr.org/blog/artificial-intelligences-environmental-costs-and-promise#:~:text=AI%20can%20be%20a%20powerful,harvest%20by%20using%20AI%20technology.
https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/12/10/solutions-to-address-ais-anticipated-negative-impacts/
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