Is AI Hurting or Helping Humankind?

Trisha Bloszinsky | Writer

Credit- Pheladiii (on pixabay)

The more time I spend on the internet, the more I seem to regret it. I can’t scroll on Instagram or TikTok without coming across pointless AI-generated videos, no matter the subject of the content.

I try to watch a YouTube video and the first ad I see is for Google Gemini; I perform a Google search and see a sponsored result for ChatGPT, even if my search is not remotely related to anything AI. 

Not only do I see AI posts across multiple platforms, but the platforms themselves have begun incorporating AI as an interactive tool:

• Snapchat’s AI Bot

• X’s (formerly Twitter) Grok

• Instagram’s Meta AI

One of the times I thanked my algorithm for not showing me useless AI posts, I stumbled across a video from @perfectunion on Instagram. The video, “I Live 400 Yards From Mark Zuckerberg’s Massive Data Center,” started by following a couple living in rural Georgia, a state witnessing some of the fastest data center growth in the US, and how those data centers powering these AI tools are affecting this couple's livelihood.

With the rise of data centers in Georgia, local families are beginning to experience low water pressure, dirty pipes, light pollution and various other problems mentioned. 

If this is the impact of data centers after a couple of years, what will humankind look like in 20 years, and shouldn’t we be placing rules and regulations surrounding AI now?