ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND PLANNING FOR THE IMPACT

OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Rachel Nilles
OGL 340: Artificial Intelligence: The Human Side
Bill Erwin
4/19/2021

Total Word Count: 3451 words

“ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION, AND PLANNING FOR THE IMPACT OF AI”

What Level of Awareness Exists?

It seems as there is a spilt level of awareness when it comes to artificial intelligence.

Most people know that it exists and that many jobs are being taken away because of AI, but

they don’t know to what extent or how soon many jobs will be mostly AI. Before doing much of

the course readings and videos I didn’t realize how much we have advanced in AI, it is

fascinating, although I know it terrifies many people and gives them “automation anxiety.”

During module 2 I had decided to interview my parents and little sister. I did so because

I knew they would have varying answers on this because of the age gaps, different levels of

education, and different careers. My dad is close to retiring and thinks the developments in

artificial intelligence is fascinating, yet worrisome with the takeover of jobs. My mom had

similar answers to my fathers, they both talked more about automation in warehouses and to

desk jobs, like computer work, where AI could easily complete tasks faster than a human could.

My sister does not know much about artificial intelligence, so it was interesting to hear her

answers. She talked mostly about the automatic drivers that have been being publicly

advertised recently and how it is so cool and that it came at a good time because of COVID and

many people not wanting to be in a car with a stranger. However, this takes away millions of

jobs like Uber and Lyft, which many people started working for because of the pandemic and

loss of jobs. 3 million Americans who drive vehicles for a living will lose their jobs in the next 10

to 15 years because of self-driving vehicles, (Yang, 2019).

To begin with, in Max Tegmark's TED Talk, he talks about being proactive. I think there is

a lot to take away from Tegmark's video, he wants safety. Instead of learning from the mistakes

that AI causes, we have to take action first ahead of time and ensure we can control the

technology we create, make sure we realize the risks and not wait for them to happen,

(Tegmark, 2018). Tegmark says that AI will be very helpful to our society, but we cannot wait

for bad things to happen, we must know the risks ahead of time. He talks about how AI could

be detrimental to our society if those safety protocols are not taken seriously. It is all about

being proactive for our future with AI.

In the Economist video, “The Future of Work: Is Your Job Safe?” they show proof of how

AI is improving many peoples working situations, and how it is making many people happier. At

Ocado, they have added robots to better navigate the warehouses and to be faster at it, while

still keeping their employees’ positions, just making everyone’s job easier. In fact, they have

added more positions to their company because of how competitive they’ve become because

of the robots, (2019). Many people are able to travel more and see the world because of online

work, and they aren’t tied down to one location. Although travel has been stopped for the time

being because of the pandemic, but many jobs have gone online recently too. While online

work and AI has created many jobs for people all over the world, like in the human cloud

industry. In wealthier companies, there are jobs that independent workers are losing their

benefits to. They don’t know if they can receive enough work that day because they can’t get to

the jobs fast enough. They mention that it creates a “dog eat dog world,” (The Economist,
2019). Sick pay and job protection are denied for jobs like Uber and Door dash, the freelance

jobs. Although many places are able to add jobs because of the help from AI that is not the case

for all companies, Amazon only had 341,400 employees in 2017, while Walmart had 1,600,000

in 2017, (Yang, 2019). That is a huge variance between the two jobs.

The Sociological Impact of AI

In the video, “How Artificial Intelligence is Changing Our Society,” there are so many

remarkable discoveries. Machines are getting better every day; they can learn on their own

even. Hugh Herr, after losing his legs, was able to develop prosthetics to what they are today, AI

legs, (2020). Herr is able to do his favorite activities again, like mountain climbing, because of

the legs he and his team have created, as well as many other people. This technology has made

him “free from the shackles of disability,” (2020). Many people are scared of AI because they

don’t think they can trust it, trust the robots, with how smart they are. Mostly it’s the movies

that are scaring people because they make robots seem like they are there to do harm, not

help, and this is why people are standoffish to AI.

Fake News has become a problem in the last few years. There is so much news to learn

in the world and not enough time, so what technology does now is it prioritizes what is shown

to you on your pages. Things that look more engaging or exciting are more likely to be clicked

on and then shared, (DW Documentary, 2020). Fake news in Japan stopped everyone from

getting a cervical cancer vaccine because of the false information being spread, but it was

enough to scare everyone out of it, (DW Documentary, 2020). Even though scientists and

doctors were showing data and writings that the vaccine was real and was effective, no one
believed them because of the fake news that scared them. It is terrifying to think of how fast

fake news can spread and how many people believe the news because they don’t know any

better.

Everything is digitalized in China now, where other countries are afraid of this. "People

in China are more accepting of having their faces, voices, and shopping choices captured and

digitized," (Lee, 2019, p. 124). People in China are willing to trade their privacy for that

convenience, while Americans are not. Americans tend to distrust anything to do with

surveillance and want their privacy. China was able to advance in AI so quickly, passing the USA.

“It is predicted that 37% of scientists will be Chinese,” (DW Documentary, 2020). China has

many great education programs and a young generation that will lead AI.

The Psychological Impact of AI

There has been a lot of research going into the psychological impact of artificial

intelligence and it is exciting news. During the Ted Talk by Maja Pantic, she talks about autism

and why emotional artificial intelligence is so important. Autistic children have a hard time

looking people in the eyes because of the different faces that we make, and they don’t know

what to think about it and it is overwhelming. In the research Pantic talks about how they work

with autistic kids and robots, and that the kids love the robots and any toy that is electronic,

(Pantic, 2018). One kid they were working with had extreme attention deficit and after a session

with him he was more attentive than he had been in a year, such great news. They believe

putting robots in therapy with autistic children is worth it and I very much agree. There are so

many great reasons why emotional AI is doing so much for people, however there are some
negatives to it. Pantic talks about how in 2017 Facebook patented a camera that would

recognize people out in shopping stores based off their Facebook profile, (2018). It will know

you search histories and what we like, the camera will watch where we go and what we look at

the most, so they will raise the price on whatever it is we are looking at, including medicine,

(Pantic, 2018). This is extremely unfair and very creepy, cameras that are able to tell who we

are based off of Facebook, thankfully I deleted my profile a year ago because of mental health

and depending on technology too much.

In another Ted Talk, Andy Blackwell talks about AI mental health therapy. Since in most

countries there are not enough psychologists or psychiatrists for the amount of people that

need mental health help, especially with a global pandemic happening and many health

workers being exhausted and needing the help themselves. Blackwell talks about how not

everyone has the same symptoms when it comes to depression, everyone is different. They are

using technology to improve clinicians care and the time they are with their patients. Blackwell

shows a graph where the talking therapy recovery rates are improving greatly year by year.

During all these sessions none of the therapists or patients actually met, it was all done

remotely, (2020). One patient went on to say the only negative experience they had was that

they couldn’t meet their therapist in person and thank them for having such a positive impact

on their life and getting them to recovery, (Blackwell, 2020). Now going back to the countries

that don’t have access to clinicians, they have them training AI systems how to deliver some of

the essential treatments needed without actually having humans involved, (Blackwell, 2020).

Another way AI is helping with mental health issues is that in Canada they are able to

forecast suicide now through social media. They are going to be trying to predict and prevent
suicide by watching social media posts and seeing those red flag spikes, (CBCNews, 2018). They

start by looking at prior events and then start predicting future events, and they then have to

ask AI what it found, and it is going to do with the information found. The reason this is

effective is because AI is able to browse 24/7 and able to find information that a regular human

couldn’t find, (CBCNews, 2018). Why this could help bring down suicide rates is because they

can find the communities that need the help before it is too late, this is amazing. They are not

individually targeting one person, they are helping the community as a whole, so they are not

watching your personal social media page to see what you post.

Conclusion

All in all, there are so many positive aspects that can be taken away from artificial

intelligence, like making jobs easier for so many people, and even adding jobs to some

companies. AI is able to even help people who have lost limbs and give them new legs or arms,

give them a new chance at the activities they used to love. There are also some downsides to AI

because it’s taking jobs away from people and causes automation anxiety for some. Like

truckdrivers and taxi drivers having their jobs taken by automotive cars/trucks. Also, AI can help

with mental health, it can reach people in countries that otherwise wouldn’t be able to get the

help needed. In conclusion, AI is a very positive aspect to life and if all the right steps are taken,

our lives could be made easier and help so many.

Addressing the Economic/Political AI Issues

My Organization Plan

To begin with, I believe we need to stay proactive as was mentioned in Max Tegmark’s

TED Talk. Being proactive and knowing the needed information ahead of time is the best option

for us at Starbucks because I can see them coming out with a machine that could easily create

lattes for customers. However, I see it being hard for a robot to be able to create the customer

connections Starbucks wants us to make with customers. Which would be having a general

conversation with someone and complimenting them or talking to them about their day or the

beverage they ordered, also giving them recommendations on what your favorite drink is.

Although artificial intelligence can definitely do this one day, I just do not see them being able

to take that one-on-one human interaction and connection.

When it comes to adding robots or AI into the field at Starbucks it would be amazing to

have one at the drive through position, it would make work easier and faster, and we could

produce drinks that much faster. If AI was able to listen to someone’s order and automatically

be able to type it out as the customer talks would be fascinating and I can see this as a

possibility. Now, Starbucks has been adding new espresso machines, called the Mastrena 2.0,

into Starbucks all around, however our Starbucks has not received them yet because we are a

new store, opened for two years now. I know that these machines have some AI to them and

make preparing drinks much faster and better. Our store is supposed to receive them in the

next couple months and cannot wait to see how much it improves our drinks and business flow.
My Personal Plan

When it comes to the future of AI in the economy and my personal plan it excites me. I

do not know where I plan on going after I graduate next year, however that is the best part.

There are so many options out there, I could stay with Starbucks, I could move across the

country for a job, I could travel and do online work like so many other people have been doing.

There is even a possibility of opening up a small coffee shop and running that business.

However, being the age that I am and that I do not have kids or many personal belongings,

traveling for work sounds amazing since being cooped up for over a year because of the

pandemic and being able to see this beautiful world we live in, and be able to do more research

on ways to live sustainably and incorporate that into our lives. Another amazing thing would be

to travel to other countries and even states and see what they have been doing in the AI world

and see how it is different from here.

Addressing the Sociological AI Issues

My Organization Plan

Since machines are getting better every day and improving many people’s lives and

helping them through everyday tasks, I definitely see them being incorporated into many

places, including Starbucks. Like I mentioned before, I can see something like a “Siri, or an

Alexa” being used to take orders, we could call it the “Siren.” I believe this could be an amazing

addition to, really, any fast-food restaurant that has a drive through. Next, is having everything

digitalized, which, for the most part, already is at Starbucks. We have touch screens to take

orders on and almost everyone has the Starbucks app where we just scan for their payment and

they get points to earn a free drink. We will have the new espresso machines with AI
implemented in them, we do not use many papers at the store. Most things are electronic and

to better the store.

My Personal Plan

Next with AI and the sociological impact it will have on my personal plan is that

technology will become more abundant, and I believe it to be an advantage for many people

my age in college because we grew up with technology and then are also in online school and

are very well versed in technology and how to use it. Therefore, if I were to go for a job that is

all online and wanted to travel the world this could be possible because of all the experience.

Visiting other countries can be terrifying, especially if they are more ahead than us, like in

China, with technology, however it would be exciting to learn all about it and see how it betters

life there.

Addressing the Psychological AI Issues

My Organization Plan

As previously mentioned, if Starbucks were able to implement an artificial intelligence

drive through, this could encourage more people to order in drive throughs. Like people with

autism, since tasks like these can be overwhelming, this could tremendously help. Also, people

with social anxiety or just anxiety in general, this could help them too. I do know, since

Starbucks has been able to implement mobile ordering, our business has increased drastically.

Customers can just order ahead and pop into the store and get their drink, without having to

talk to anyone if they do not wish too. As I talked about in part one where Facebook patented a

camera that could recognize people out shopping based off their Facebook profile, it reminded
me about the camera we use at Starbucks. We have a camera on our drive through speaker

box, but we use it to make sure the car is close enough so we can hear them. Still, when people

realize we have a camera there they tend to freak out when they comprehend, we can see

them while they are ordering. When you start to look around at other places though, you can

see how many have cameras and it is pretty common.

Starbucks is very big on mental health awareness and being able to provide their

employees with therapy is huge to them. Especially during this past year, they have been able

to pay for so many baristas therapy sessions. How I talked about in part one on the AI

psychological impact has in therapy sessions, Starbucks was able to provide that for many

employees. I know a few baristas at my store that use virtual therapy sessions in the last year

and have had tremendous improvement because of it. They hated in person sessions and were

glad when they were able to afford online or over the phone sessions. Very fortunate to have a

company like Starbucks that cares so greatly for their employees and wants to provide as much

support as possible for them and that artificial intelligence can help make it happen.

My Personal Plan

When it comes to therapy and artificial intelligence, I see all the benefits of doing this.

When I attended therapy a few times, they were all in person sessions, and I despised it, I

cannot open up to other people so easily, especially when they are just staring at me. The idea

of being able to do this online seems remarkable and sounds like it would encourage many

other people to try it because everyone needs therapy from time to time, especially when you

put too much on your workload. Without artificial intelligence I also would not be able to do
most of my online schooling. We have come a very long way in the world of artificial

intelligence and I am very excited to see where it takes us.

Conclusion

There are many options on how to handle artificial intelligence coming into our lives and

I believe the best course of action on dealing with it all is to embrace it and learn to live with it

the best we can. It brings many wonderful things into our lives and makes tasks easier.

Although it will take many jobs away in some areas of work, we need to think of the positives

and the jobs it can create, like building the robots and other machines. It is making such a big

difference in many people’s lives already and we have just scratched the surface with artificial

intelligences capabilities. The future is an exhilarating place and artificial intelligence can make

our lives easier and help so many people along the way.
References:

Blackwell, A. (2020, March 11). Artificial intelligence MEETS mental health Therapy. Retrieved

April 01, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZkTvw3usMw4

CBCNews. (2018, January 02). Artificial intelligence to forecast likely surges in suicide. Retrieved

April 01, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RL9m0iDAUU

DW Documentary. (2020, April 18). How artificial intelligence is changing our society. Retrieved

March 31, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ePZ7OdY-Dw

Economist Magazine. (2019, January 16). The future of work: Is your job safe? Retrieved March

30, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUc5oN_ffRo

Lee, K. (2019). AI SUPERPOWERS: China, Silicon Valley, and the new world order. Boston, MA:

MARINER Books.

Pantic, M. (2018, December 14). This is why emotional artificial intelligence matters. Retrieved

April 01, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QjZDUaDxQU

Tegmark, M. (2018, July 05). How to get empowered, not Overpowered, by AI. Retrieved April

01, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LRwvU6gEbA

Yang, A. (2019). The war on normal people: The truth about America's disappearing jobs and

why universal basic income is our future. New York, NY: Hachette Books.