AI Paper 1: Potential Impacts of AI
Paper
For this class, a lot of our focus is going to be on understanding and programming different AI methods; as computer scientists this technical knowledge is very important when we design AI systems. However, this course would be incomplete without some consideration of the consequences of AI. AI has had far-reaching impacts in society and is still changing how we do things. Some of these impacts are very visible (recommendations, natural language processing, customer service virtual assistants, translation) while, for many others, you may not even be aware that AI is involved (medical imaging analysis, fraud detection, weather analysis, surveillance systems, loan decisions, etc.).
The assignment is to evaluate how we’re using (or considering using) AI in the world today and to weigh the potential downsides of its use. These downsides can be related to the use of AI systems in general or how they’re actually being implemented in society. As I mention in class, it’s important to remember that AI is not limited to large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT and so I encourage you to explore other AI topics that interest you.
Paper and Grades
For this paper, I am most interested in your ideas about AI. I want to hear your voice and what you think is important in this subject area. If you have a personal experience relating to AI, feel free to share that in your paper. If you’re unfamiliar with AI use, I recommend researching any of the above topics or even reading a book related to AI use. A good paper will incorporate research from several different sources and viewpoints.
I expect this paper to be your own work; do not use ChatGPT (or any other internet/personal source) to write your paper. If you do this, the penalties (outlined in the syllabus) will be harsh. Use of outside sources is strongly encouraged and is important for a good paper! When you use an outside source, cite the source in your works cited and reference. Direct quotes should always be attributed to the source. Finally, I encourage you to consider what sources you are using; some sources are much less reliable than others and may have hidden motivations. (As an example, imagine an article written by Facebook discussing the benefits of social network use.)
I encourage you to first research and develop your ideas, write an outline, and then start writing a draft. An excellent resource at any stage in this process is the writing center; they can help you solidify your ideas, design your paper’s structure, and correct any errors or issues you might miss in writing the paper.
Topics
Some uses of AI (and thus potential topics) include:
- recommendations,
- natural language processing,
- customer service virtual assistants,
- translation
- medical imaging analysis,
- fraud detection,
- weather analysis,
- surveillance and image analysis,
- loan decisions,
- statistical analysis,
- predictive applications,
- targetted marketing,
- spam filtering,
- pattern recognition,
- game playing,
- autonomous vehicle control,
- and many, many more.
Submission
When submitting your paper on Canvas, make sure that:
- Your name is on the paper, along with the Rhodes honor pledge “I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid on this program.”
- Your paper should be long enough to fully explore your topic. I am not creating a formal length requirement but remember that your work should fully explore the topic.
- You have a works cited page with the relevant sources you used. Include in-text citations when you reference your sources.