As artificial intelligence becomes more embedded in everyday life, we have to weigh the pros and cons that come with it. Is AI helping us grow and expand our understanding of the world, or are we using it as a crutch?
There are clear benefits. In medical settings, AI can help diagnose patients by rapidly analyzing data and identifying patterns that may take humans much longer to process. It can also compute and organize information in seconds—tasks that might take people hours or days.
But the negative effects of AI outweigh the positives.
Jobs that rely on human interaction—customer service representatives, translators, data clerks—are increasingly at risk. AI can perform many of these tasks faster and more efficiently, putting large numbers of people in danger of losing employment. Even doctors may face challenges as diagnostic tools become more automated.
However, the threat doesn’t stop with corporate jobs. Creativity is also under pressure as AI becomes more normalized.
AI scrapes and repurposes the work of real artists, copying their styles and generating “new” images. Iconic works like Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night have been reduced to data and used to create lifeless imitations of art that once defined human imagination.
Worse, people take credit for what AI produces.
In 2023, an AI-generated artwork won the Colorado State Fair’s art competition. Jason Allen submitted the piece without disclosing his use of AI—because at the time, he didn’t have to. A rule was later added requiring competitors to report all AI involvement, but the controversy highlighted a growing issue.
On social media, users often post striking images that attract attention—until viewers reach the bio and see the dreaded disclaimer: “Generated by AI.”
Instead of learning a craft and creating something meaningful, people use AI to mimic the work of small artists and gain attention. This directly affects people like me—artists whose work can be scraped, repurposed, and used in ways that harm our opportunities.
This behavior strips away the uniquely human quality of creativity. Creating allows people to think independently, rather than relying on a sequence of ones and zeroes to decide what they should make or feel.
And the dependence is only growing. Some people use AI as a therapist, sharing personal information and seeking emotional advice from a machine rather than turning to real people. Others develop “relationships” with virtual partners through apps like Character AI.
This harms our ability to socialize, an especially concerning trend for younger people whose social skills were already weakened during the COVID-19 lockdowns.
It doesn’t stop there. The environmental impacts are severe.
AI consumes enormous amounts of electricity, leading to higher fossil fuel use and increased carbon emissions. While AI can sometimes help reduce emissions in other sectors, the environmental cost of powering large-scale AI systems is substantial. Climate change is already accelerating—temperatures rising, glaciers melting, sea levels increasing—and AI’s energy demands only worsen the crisis.
While AI has both positive and negative qualities, the downsides grow more alarming as these programs advance.
AI could be used for good. But widespread reliance on it—and the speed at which it is being adopted—raises serious concerns. People are becoming dependent on it, creativity is being undermined, jobs are at risk, and its environmental footprint is damaging the planet we call home.
