If you're on the internet, you've made a Faustian pact - you have unlimited access to knowledge and information, and the ability to make connections in exchange for your data. With AI, the subject of data privacy has renewed significance. Tech companies freely and without permission use the vast amounts of data available online to train AI models. But do we care? Does it matter that we have little control over our images and words that are being used by companies for a profit if the payoff is the opportunity to use AI tools? There are other questions worth thinking about: How do we tackle the biases inherent in the data that AI is trained on? How do we regulate tech companies and make them accountable to people?
This is one facet of the issue. The other is the undeniable fact that AI has immense benefits. It improves productivity, it can deliver education to remote, underserved communities and it can enhance healthcare in economically challenged communities. While we raise important questions about the ethics of AI, perhaps we should also keep in mind that AI is an evolving technology and that it will in time overcome its current faults.
