AI is all the rage—and all the fear. Everyone is talking about it everywhere, even in the halls of Congress. It is quite possible that AI will prove to be the most world-changing invention since the wheel or the printing press. But how it changes things is the big concern.
At the October Press Club luncheon on October 8 at Vi in Bentley Village, Naples, Leandro de Castro Silva, PhD, shared his expertise to clarify the pros and cons and to provide some focus on this pressing subject. Dr. de Castro is a professor at Florida Gulf Coast University and the founding director of the Dendritic Institute for Human Centered AI and Data Science, Florida Gulf Coast University’s (FGCU) central hub for artificial intelligence and data science innovation, research, and education. He hails from Brazil where he earned degrees in electrical engineering (BA), computer engineering (MS and PhD), and business (MBA). He has worked in the field of AI since 1995 and published five books on the subject.
In his presentation, Dr. de Castro described AI as a powerful assistant, able to analyze huge amounts of data to help a human make a decision or better understand a problem. However, he stressed that AI does not provide provenance for its research. It takes a human to verify the results and ensure that they are based on reliable and credible sources. This is especially important now that AI is able to generate information independently.
Looking at the impact on journalism, Dr. de Castro sees AI as an important tool to organize and analyze vast amounts of information, to translate, and to transcribe. Again, the results must be verified by humans. AI is not responsible, humans are. They are responsible for what is aired or published. For the first time humanity has invented a tool that can operate independently. The spear required a human to throw it. This tool requires only a human to push the “on” button. After that, it’s on its own. Therefore, it is critical that humans devise controls and verification methods to guard against the spread of misinformation.
Dr. de Castro expressed optimism noting that technological advances tend to create new jobs, not merely remove old ones. He cites an example of a busy port facility in Santos, Brazil, where boats were loaded and unloaded by hand. When cranes were introduced to move more cargo faster, many loaders learned to operate the cranes and earn more money. As AI expands into more and more aspects of human life, more and more new jobs will be created. But AI doesn’t have to mean replacing humans; rather it can change the way they work to become more effective. It comes down to issues of attitude, curiosity and control.
Afterword: As a matter of full disclosure, it should be noted that the presentation was recorded and transcribed by AI. That transcription was then analyzed and summarized by another AI to provide the basis for this article.
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