{"id":170448,"date":"2020-06-09T03:15:36","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T10:15:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/?p=170448"},"modified":"2024-11-19T08:00:57","modified_gmt":"2024-11-19T16:00:57","slug":"pros-and-cons-of-ai-in-daily-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/internet-security\/pros-and-cons-of-ai-in-daily-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Pros and Cons of AI in Daily Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Artificial intelligence: It\u2019s society\u2019s newest darling and newest villain. AI is the newest best friend to creatives, time-strapped people, and unfortunately, the newest sidekick of online scammers. AI platforms like <\/span>ChatGPT<\/span><\/a>, Craiyon, Voice.ai, and others are available to everyday people, meaning that the technology is creeping further into our daily lives. But is this mainstream AI for the better? Or for worse?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pros of AI in Daily Life<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Confidence builder<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

According to <\/span>McAfee\u2019s Modern Love Research Report<\/span><\/a>, 27% of people who admitted that they planned to use AI on Valentine\u2019s Day said it was to boost their confidence. For some people, pouring their heart onto the page is difficult and makes them feel vulnerable. If there\u2019s a tool out there that lessens people\u2019s fear of opening up, they should take advantage of it.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just remember that honesty is the best policy. Tell your partner you employed the help of AI to express your feelings.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Creativity booster<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Sometimes you just don\u2019t know how to start your next masterpiece, whether it\u2019s a painting, short story, or business proposal. AI art and text generators are great brainstorming tools to get the creative juices flowing. The program may think of an approach you would never have considered.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Time saver<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Generative AI \u2013 the type of artificial intelligence technology behind many mainstream content generation platforms \u2013 isn’t new. In fact, scientists and engineers have been using it for decades to accelerate new materials and medical discoveries. For example, generative AI is central to inventing carbon capture materials that will be key to slowing the effects of global warming.<\/span>1<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Online tools fueled by generative AI can save you time too. For instance, AI can likely handle run-of-the-mill emails that you hardly have time to write between all your meetings.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cons of AI in Daily Life<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Dwindling authenticity<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

What happens to genuine human connections as AI expands? The Modern Love Report discovered 49% of people would feel hurt if their partner used AI to write a love note. What they thought was written with true feeling was composed by a heartless computer program. ChatGPT composes its responses based on what\u2019s published elsewhere on the internet. So, not only are its responses devoid of real human emotion, but the \u201cemotion\u201d it does portray is plagiarized.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, some artists perceive AI-generated components within digital artworks as cheapening the talent of human artists. The same with AI-written content is consistent with AI art: None of the art it generates is original. It takes inspiration and snippets from already-published images and mashes them together. The results can be visually striking (or nightmarish), but some argue that it belittles the human spirit.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

AI hallucinations are also a problem in the authenticity and accuracy of AI-generated content. An AI hallucination occurs when the generative AI program doesn\u2019t know the answer to a prompt. Instead of diligently researching the correct answer, the AI makes up the answer. This can lead to the proliferation of fake news or inaccurate reporting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Faster and more believable online scams<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

AI-generated content is expanding the repertoire and speed of online scammers. For example, <\/span>phishing emails<\/span><\/a> used to be easy to pick out of a crowd, because of their trademark typos, poor grammar and spelling, and laughably far-fetched stories. Now with ChatGPT, phishing emails are much more polished, since, at the sentence level, it writes smoothly and correctly. This makes it more difficult for even the most diligent readers to identify and avoid phishing attempts. Also, instead of spending time imagining and writing their fake backstories, phishers can offload that task to ChatGPT, which makes quick work of it.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cybercriminals are working out the possibilities of leveraging ChatGPT to write new types of malware quickly. In four hours, one researcher gave ChatGPT minimal instructions and it wrote an undetectable malware program.<\/span>2<\/span> This means that someone with little to no coding experience could theoretically create a powerful new strain of malicious software. The speed at which the researcher created the malware is also noteworthy. A cybercriminal could trial-and-error dozens of malware programs. The moment authorities detect and shut down one strain, the criminal could release the next soon after.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Malicious impersonation<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Deep fake technology<\/span><\/a> and voice AI are expanding the nefarious repertoire of scammers. In one incident, a scammer cloned the voice of a teenager, which was so realistic it convinced the teenager\u2019s own mother that her child was in danger. In actuality, the teen was completely safe.<\/span>3<\/span> Voice AI applications like this one could add false legitimacy to the <\/span>grandparent scam<\/span><\/a> that has been around for a few years and other voice-based scams. According to <\/span>McAfee\u2019s Beware the Artificial Imposter report<\/span><\/a>, 77% of people who were targeted by a voice cloning scam lost money as a result.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Verdict on AI<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

So, what do you think? Is your day-to-day life easier or more complicated thanks to AI? Should people aim to add it to their routines or stop relying on it so much?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The debate of AI\u2019s place in the mainstream could go on and on. What\u2019s undebatable is the need for protection against online threats that are becoming more powerful when augmented by AI. Here are a few general tips to avoid AI scams:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n