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Thomas Tang

There is much talk about artificial intelligence (AI) and barely a day goes by without a mention of the most recent developments and opportunities – as well as the risks – that it offers in everyday life.
According to Fortune Business Insights, the global AI market was valued at US$515.3 billion in 2023 and is projected to grow from US$621.2 billion in 2024 to US$2.7 trillion by 2032. Without a doubt, the speed of data processing enabled by AI has created many benefits, such as convenience and accessibility to services and goods.
However, the down side to all this is a by-product of AI, namely “artificial stupidity”. Our overreliance on digital technology has now rendered our brains almost redundant and our lives characterised by antisocial norms and parlous decision-making.
Today, we conduct much of our life online. We buy and sell goods online. Many of us would find it hard to exist without an online bank account. This means we can veer towards poor judgment in our choices.
In 2022, Hong Kong reported around 28,000 scams involving financial fraud. It is difficult to verify authenticity online, and there are unscrupulous predators who prey on the vulnerable. But that is not to say vulnerability is limited to individuals – corporations are equally exposed.




Take, for example, cybercrime – criminal activity that uses digital technology to infiltrate organisations’ computer networks. Cybercrime is committed by hackers who seek to make money by disabling systems and demanding ransoms to rectify the problem. Occasionally, cybercriminals aim to maliciously damage computers or networks for reasons other than profit.
In response, we have cybersecurity – any technology, measures or practice that aims to prevent cyberattacks or mitigate their impact. Safeguarding systems, applications, computing devices, sensitive data and financial assets is paramount against threats such as computer viruses and costly ransomware attacks.
But humans are fallible. This is where AI can be a tool or a liability. In one recent case, British engineering firm Arup was swindled out of US$25 million by criminals using AI-generated video calls to deceive an employee into transferring substantial funds.
AI is also becoming a weapon for terrorists or part of an armoury for the military to disable critical infrastructure in other countries to create chaos. Given humanity’s warlike nature, it may only be a matter of time before AI becomes standard weaponry in acts of aggression, if it has not already become so.


Like many other calamities we face in life, war can be a matter of choice. That is why reason should prevail over stupidity. Sadly, we don’t always see this. Our judgment has become impaired, and we would rather listen to fake news on the internet than learn from real-life experience.
Further evidence of our acquiescence to technology is how companies commonly assign chatbots to their customers, directing them to unhelpful websites to save the cost of employing a real human who can display empathy and rationality. In this vein, machines do not exhibit accountability; humans do.
One final example of artificial stupidity lies in our obsession with smartphones. Many members of society today seek solace and gratification across cyberspace rather than communicating with the people in front of them. This sorry state of affairs raises the question of whether being a social animal is what distinguishes humans from other species. Sadly, it looks as though we are devolving, rather than evolving.

Furthermore, people are so attached to their phones that they cannot put them down while walking along the street, crossing the road, taking the MTR or doing other tasks that involve an element of personal safety. We are wired to be alert for danger, but staring incessantly at a small screen seems to have removed that trait.
In conclusion, AI is here to stay. As large language models become cheaper and more widely available, there is no end to where we will attempt to apply AI. But, as members of the human race, let’s not get seduced into thinking AI will be the be-all and end-all.
Let’s pause and consider how to use AI and digital technology wisely. We should not be so dominated by technology that we are reduced to indifference to the real world. So, put down your phone. Talk to a real person. Watch a play. Read a book. Visit nature and smell the roses. That will hopefully curb our artificial stupidity.
Dr Thomas Tang is CEO and founder of PJ Sustainability Consulting Limited


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AI is clearly here to stay, but as humans we must not get seduced into thinking that such technology will become the be-all and end-all


AI is clearly here to stay, but as humans we must not get seduced into thinking that such technology will become the be-all and end-all.


Technology

Crime

Cybersecurity

ChatGPT and other generative AIs

Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


How to combat real-world stupidity over artificial intelligence

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}AI is clearly here to stay, but as humans we must not get seduced into thinking that such technology will become the be-all and end-all

AI is clearly here to stay, but as humans we must not get seduced into thinking that such technology will become the be-all and end-all