Pros and Cons of Artificial Intelligence Technology

By Leah E. Reinhart

Artificial Intelligence Is One of the Biggest Subject Right Now

I don’t think one person on the planet hasn’t heard of artificial intelligence a.k.a. AI technology. People are either excited about it or completely freaked out by it. I personally think it’s a little bit of both. On one hand it can aid in professional and quick email responses, give you topics and ideas to create content, and generate pictures on the spot. Yet, there is fear of AI taking the place of art such as music, acting, painting, design, writing, etc. and at it’s worst, creating scary weaponry and replacing humans. All are possibilities with this newfound product. Now that it’s out, there’s no turning back. So you might as well get used it and learn about it.

Once I heard about Chat GPT I immediately signed up to see what it could do. I tried the song thing. Even asked it to explain quantum physics and mechanics in laymen’s terms and basically played with it until I got bored. Pretty much what most people will do after the newness wears off.

My Journey of AI

I realized Bing’s AI uses Chat GPT as well, and I use it for many things. In fact, I’ve most likely used it to create an image for this particular blog. I’ve used it in other blogs to find out what was trending at the time. It came in handy to write up description for the jewelry that is on this site ( in the link), which saved me a lot of time. I was having a ball with it when I discovered that it could help me create my very own tarot card designs. https://wellnessgardentoolshed.com/product/flower-of-life-lapis-necklace/

I started with Swords suite beginning with the Ace of swords. The AI created a dragon holding a sword the color of a blue lightning bolt. My second request was two dragons, each holding a sword the same color as the the single dragon on the Ace of Swords, and continued all the way to the Four of Swords when I ran into complications.

AI couldn’t decipher how many swords and how many dragons as the request became more complex, as illustrated in the second photo. The intelligence part in AI, wasn’t quite that smart. It rapidly ruined my dream of using AI to create my own artwork for a tarot deck. This wasn’t the first time AI didn’t capture the essence or straight up meaning of something I asked it to create. In some cases it’s added words to an image that weren’t in my native tongue, English. Strange, isn’t it? When this occurred, I couldn’t understand why anyone would think their career would be threatened by this, until the actors and screen guild went on strike. And I’m sure there are more advanced systems.

Careers Are Threatened By AI

It would appear some careers have a true threat of AI. We all heard about the actors and writers strike. Most of us never really think about what goes in to making a film of any kind. There are many people behind the scenes and many in front of the camera that no one pays any attention. Just imagine if you were an actor in the beginning of your career in whatever show you could get that was paid a minimal amount for you the limited time you were on the screen. More than an extra, but not quite a supporting actor. It doesn’t pay that great, but you’re hoping to get your lucky break by being there.

AI comes in and takes your picture, then creates an image of you, only to use throughout the season of the show, and only paying you for the one day’s work. That would suck and you’d probably never want to act again. Thank goodness there are laws looking into this to prevent this from happening.

Musician face the same fear. Students that have paid for schools, expensive ones like Berklee or Julliard, fear that money and time will be for not, when someone can create a song and it gets traction. I can’t imagine how frustrated one would get. But don’t fret.

AI Creates Generics

There are some real threats of AI, but I don’t think the things that most of us worry about are a true threat. After all, AI couldn’t get the number swords and number of dragons that I requested right at all when the image became too “complicated” for it.

I am one of Marie Forleo’s B-School students and she recently sent an email looking to hire copywriter. One of her requests was to not use AI because they would know. Even an amateur can tell when a resume has been written with AI. Professionals will recognize when AI is used. They want people with a real set of skills. Think about it. AI takes everything that’s been on the internet and generates from that information. When something trends, fact or fiction, AI will use that information too.

The days of originality have not been seen for quite some time. Look at social media, most of the content out there is people copying each other. And frankly, it works in some cases. If you’re trying to get your book published traditionally, the publishing houses want to be able to sell your book and generally pick topics that are trending, something that they know is a for sure sale. Same goes for the music industry and movie industry. Music pretty much sounds the same in their genre.

Being Unique Makes You Stand Out

There’s a lot of hype surrounding the movie release of “The Fall Guy” with Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt but for you young whipper snappers, did you know it is a remake of a television series in the ’80’s? (I will want to see it, thought because of the actors in it.) If AI is picking up on what’s out there in internet land, people will eventually see the lack of quality and/or originality. All of which will work in the the artist’s favor. I believe an uptick of originality will make a come back and be cool, once again.

The one thing AI takes away is uniqueness. I truly believe that once we embrace our own uniqueness and quit trying to be like everyone else, we will see new art created. I am a mid to late 70’s and 80’s San Francisco Bay Area girl, and very thankful to have grown up in a time where people wanted their own identity. Sure there were trends, but we had so many different ones at the same time whether it was fashion attire or music; new wave, rocker, punk, thug, pop, goth, Madonna, big hair, and country. The billboard charts showed that you could have more than one genre on the chart.

When I was a kid, my sister told me I couldn’t have blue as my favorite color because she called it first. Lord knows we couldn’t like the same color. So I picked green. You get the point, right? Social media changed that concept. Everyone wants to be an influencer these days. It’s the new famous. But I think that trend will change, too. Meaning that quality will be taken into account as opposed to only popularity. Remember, change is inevitable.

Adapting to AI

As much as people want change, when it’s here, everyone freaks out. We love our familiarity. Evolution is about the Universe and everything in it, which now, includes AI. Are there scary aspects of AI? Yes, but also opportunities. When I experience writer’s block, I may use it. The one thing it’s taught me, is to be a really good editor. If anything, I think it will give artists a real opportunity to shine and be appreciated for the hard work, talent, and originality that goes into whatever art form that is created.

It will never replace a real person. Man created AI not the other way around. As much as computer scientists have tried to replicate the human brain, they haven’t been able to yet. We know the brain is the organ that translate information from your senses and interprets them for us to navigate our existence. So here’s a philosophical question for you. Who’s operating the brain? Some might say your soul, others may say consciousness, or collective consciousness, something we came with into existence. With those theories, we can conclude that humans are the “soul” of the computer. But who knows? Maybe the sci-fi movies had it right all along.

One of the best things to come out of AI is that people will question what is real or what is artificial. Many things on the internet will be questioned whether a photo or film is real. I believe our critical thinking skill will be called to the forefront forcing people to use their brains again. Technology will always advance and be designed to make our lives easier. Most of it has been positive, but then we’ve seen the downside of it as well.

In Conclusion

AI is like any other technology or invention. Automobiles were designed to make our lives easier to see the world, go to work, socialize, pretty much help start the industrial revolution. The downside is pollution, traffic jams, added expenses, and accidents. The internet has allowed us to communicate world wide in an instant. We don’t need to shelve/buy encyclopedias or dictionaries. We have access to information at our fingertips. We’ve forgotten how to be resourceful when things aren’t easily found. Plus, your information is out in internet land, whether you like it or not, leaving you vulnerable to get hacked.

Everything has a positive and a negative side. AI is here to stay and will evolve. We have to evolve, as well. You don’t have to like it, but I’d encourage you to explore it and try it. I’ve seen too many people fight progress especially when it comes to computer technology, only to struggle to catch up after being forced to adapt. There are many benefits in learning something new, one which helps brain health. What are your thoughts on AI?

I love these types of conversations. If you know someone that also loves/likes them, please feel free to share it. Let’s keep conversations going. Communication and learning expands our brains and awareness, one more tool from the Wellness Garden Tool Shed represents. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to read this blog. I am truly grateful. Love and Wellness to you all.

I believe this artificial intelligence is going to be our partner. If we misuse it, it will be a risk. If we use it right, it can be our partner.

Masayoshi Son