The New Normal

by Carly Murray | Jan 2, 2025

The rapidly occurring advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) can be a challenge to keep up with, but education and awareness are key as it becomes increasingly integrated in Americans’ daily lives. While the fear of it replacing humans—in jobs, in relationships and in society—remains a hot topic, versions of this developing technology are increasingly accessible.

Social media platforms like Meta’s AI search feature, Snapchat’s AI chatbot and generative image features mostly exist for entertainment purposes. However, some are still wary of giving their information or image to something with a capacity to take, use and expand its knowledge based on user-supplied input. Alternatively, others view it as a new medium for creating art like short films, humorous adaptations and generative imagery, which are proliferating throughout the internet today.

“As new tools emerge, they invariably create new opportunities while shifting the importance of certain skills,” says Guiling (Grace) Wang, PhD, CFA, IEEE Fellow, distinguished professor of computer science and associate dean for research at the Ying Wu College of Computing at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). ”In the arts, as AI tools become more advanced, some traditional skills may become less essential, whereas abilities like taste and selection may gain prominence. For instance, individuals with a keen aesthetic sense but lesser technical skills in drawing can now produce more work using these tools … the key is to adapt to these changes by finding diverse and enjoyable ways to work with the new technologies, thus leveraging the powerful trend towards digital assistance in creative fields.”

To further demonstrate the complexity of its social implications, AI-produced media is a controversial issue, as less experienced internet users can be deceived by realistic but ultimately AI-generated images or videos. The technology is also in the news for its potential to replace jobs in the entertainment industry, hence last year’s high-profile Hollywood strikes. When an issue is in the spotlight as such, it often trickles down to a local level everywhere.

An international oddity news story went viral earlier this year when an experience inspired by Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in Scotland was accused of using AI to generate its script and advertising. Despite the nonsensical wording that is perhaps fitting of a Roald Dahl-inspired event, many families bought tickets for the now-infamous disappointment. This instance sparked questions over AI’s abilities: if it is as universally powerful and successful as it’s touted to be, or if some AI systems are more capable than others. One element was agreed upon, though; Humans should be working alongside AI and supervising its input and production.

“A lot of the excitement right now is around the latest generation of generative AI, which is particularly good at creating and analyzing content whether that’s numbers, data, words or images. But it’s important to understand that generative AI doesn’t possess our values or intelligence—even when it gives us that impression. Instead, these algorithms are making their best effort to guess how they think we would like it to answer, so it has biases that we don’t necessarily know or understand,” says Beth Simone Noveck, New Jersey State Chief AI Strategist and Northeastern University School of Law professor. “We have to be very careful how we use this technology. We never want to solely rely on AI—especially on anything that can have an impact on residents—so we must have people reviewing everything it produces. AI can be a fantastic tool for drafting, editing and analyzing, but we need to make sure someone is reviewing what it generates.”

As co-chair of New Jersey’s AI Task Force created by Gov. Phil Murphy, Noveck is consistently studying artificial intelligence’s growth while educating others with her vast knowledge of its potential impacts. The task force was implemented to both promote responsible AI use and advocate for guardrails as necessary.

“While there aren’t rankings of AI incorporation, understanding and legislation nationally, the state of New Jersey has been a pioneer in providing AI-use education to state employees through the creation of Executive Order 346, which empowered the Office of Innovation to develop training programs for executive branch departments and other agency staffers to use artificial intelligence technologies responsibly and intelligently,” emphasizes Andy Kuhn, director of business development at Choose New Jersey, an economic development agency. “Additionally, the state—through creation of the State AI Task Force, development of the Princeton Hub for AI and appointment of the state’s first chief AI strategist—became a national leader in its response to the opportunity surrounding artificial intelligence.”

Experts agree that the key to AI’s success is conscientious and supervised usage. Then, it can be used for incredible purposes like medical advancements, heightened efficiency and problem-solving. The most impactful method of ensuring well-intended usage is through educational programs that embrace the future rather than fight it.

“AI replacing jobs was not a secret, but when comparing it to human-level intelligence, AI is still in the infancy stage,” affirms Zheng Li, assistant professor of computer science at Stockton University, who is also working to develop the school’s new AI program. “AI is also creating jobs, but these jobs do need technical expertise and domain knowledge. So in order to fit these jobs … we need to be prepared for the change, especially college students.”

According to Dr. Wang, NJIT was one of the first institutions to recognize AI’s potential and develop an M.S. in AI program. As more scholastic institutions incorporate an AI curriculum to help prepare the next generation for future industry expectations, there is also an emergence of educational programs for current professionals.

“In October 2023, the state of New Jersey made a public commitment to educate every public sector professional in the use of AI,” Kuhn says. “As a part of this commitment, the state is deploying an AI training course in collaboration with InnovateUS. The training is scheduled for 2024 and will provide public sector professionals skills training in how to use generative AI to advance their work, assess capabilities, and risk and explain state government employee’s responsibility when using generative AI to perform job duties.”

Still, there is an urgency for people to have AI literacy in nonprofessional capacities to avoid being duped by an AI-generated product, whether to stop misinformation in its tracks or identify images created out of revenge for the sole purpose of ruining a person’s reputation. These are nefarious uses that are unfortunately a part of any powerful new tool, and any large-scale change may prompt legislation.

Some other risks associated with AI aren’t necessarily caused by humans, such as AI’s still unlegislated capacity for bias and copyright infringement. Due to AI’s functionality depending on the already-existing information and imagery that it learns from, the state’s AI Task Force is committed to advancing ethical usage.

“Ultimately, generative artificial intelligence is a tool, and just as a carpenter needs to be trained to safely use a table saw, professionals need to be trained on the risks and opportunities of generative AI to use it properly, securely and in a manner that protects privacy. That is why the governor’s nation-leading commitment to make training available to every single state government employee is so important,” says Noveck. “And to be clear … it is not about eliminating jobs: The focus should always be putting these tools in the hands of workers so they can do their jobs more efficiently and improve services.”

Noveck recognizes “that government doesn’t have all the answers,” but in collaboration with other professionals such as the private sector, academia and consumer protection, each gains a new and deeper understanding. That knowledge is passed along to civilians and is integral to their journey into the undetermined future. From correctly identifying fake media to utilizing AI for efficiency and communication in a professional aspect, even a surface-level understanding is vital in the modern age of technology.

“While we can mitigate the bias as we collect and provide the best data, and control and tune the training process, you have to be aware before you use any AI, generally of the context. You have to check it for the issues such as legal issues, copyright issues [and more],” Li concurs.

The uneasiness associated with AI culminates into the general theme of fearing the unknown. Innovation takes collaboration and persistence to get completely right, and the capacity for positive change compels many professionals to consider AI integration in their business models or in the services that they provide. Despite the fine-tuning efforts that are still in progress—as well as an absolute comprehension of AI’s future potential as it continues to learn and grow—there is great work already completed and in progress to better control and understand this technology. Due to its likelihood to appear increasingly in everyday life, AI’s current accessibility can help anyone familiarize themselves with its capabilities.

“To stay informed about AI, it’s essential to actively engage with the technology. Use it and have some fun! Trying free versions of AI tools like ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini is highly encouraged,” says Dr. Wang. “As new tools become available, exploring them can provide valuable insights into their capabilities. While some questions and concerns may persist, firsthand experience is invaluable for understanding what AI can truly do.”

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Published and copyrighted in South Jersey Magazine, Volume 21, Issue 7 (October 2024)

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Author: Carly Murray

The New Normal

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