For the most part, people tend to think of artificial intelligence as something futuristic, like robots, ChatGPT, or self-driving cars. But the strange thing that I found out during our research lab is that most people are already utilizing artificial intelligence every single day without even realizing it. It is just running in the background of the apps that we use on a daily basis.
One of the things that really caught my attention is the music streaming services that we all use, like Spotify. The playlists that we get from Spotify, like Discover Weekly or Daily Mix, are not random. They are generated based on our listening habits compared to millions of users across the platform. In a way, artificial intelligence is dictating the type of music that we will probably listen to without even realizing it.
The ethical issue that really stood out to me is the fact that this influence can be so invisible. When AI systems are making decisions for us, for instance, the type of music or news that we are exposed to, they can, without our knowledge, influence our preferences, as well as our worldview. The biggest surprise for me during my research was the fact that the influence of AI can be so invisible. Sometimes, AI does not necessarily feel like “technology making decisions.” Sometimes, it feels as though the app somehow knows you really well.
Another thing that I learned from the research lab is the fact that the way you talk to the AI can really matter. One of the very helpful techniques for interacting with large language models is the fact that you can give them context. Instead of asking vague questions, giving them specific prompts can really work for you.
AI is becoming part of everyday life often quietly in the background. The more we understand how it works, the better we can decide how much influence we want it to have.
Source
MIT Technology Review. “How Recommendation Algorithms Work.”
Spotify Engineering. “How Discover Weekly Works.”
