DAWN'S DIARY

A common discussion that has taken the internet by storm revolves around A.I. and its ethical use; as a new tool, how humankind develops and uses it, whether it be for good or bad, can be consequential in the long-term. As such, there are many arguments for and against its use; one common argument that I personally have heard a lot is its impact on jobs—A.I. is slowly replacing human jobs, but is that ethical? 

There are varying answers to how many jobs will be affected by the introduction of A.I. in the workplace. According to the World Economic Forum though, around 92 million jobs will be replaced by A.I. by the year 2030; however, the same report also believes that many more new jobs will be created. 

When considering my degree and future job, one consideration I certainly made was whether or not my line of work would be replaced by A.I. As a public health student, I decided to consult ChatGPT itself—one of, if not, the most popular A.I. bot in the world. I asked: “What are the benefits of using A.I. in the field of public health?” I was then given a long list, some of the reasons being: 

• Early disease detection and surveillance 

• Personalized public health interventions 

• Remote monitoring and telehealth 

Given that all of us reading this blog lived through a pandemic and saw the toll it took on human society, the resources that A.I. can bring to the table do not sound that bad at all. In fact, if a modern, developed A.I. was around during the pandemic, one could argue that we could’ve cut costs worth millions of dollars, many hours of hard labor and research, and the stress of many around the world. There is no denying that the medical field is changing with the technology around it, and in my opinion, A.I. can improve many lives. 

There are also many ethical challenges to consider though; when prompting ChatGPT about the negatives, some cons that it pointed out are: 

• Data and privacy concerns 

• Algorithmic bias 

• Need for high-quality data 

• Ethical and regulatory issues 

Given that A.I. would use patient data from different hospitals for early disease detection and surveillance, personalized public health interventions, and remote monitoring, a large issue is certainly privacy concerns. In fact, according to an article by Stanford, they write, “AI systems pose many of the same privacy risks we have been facing during the past decades of internet commercialization and mostly unrestrained data collection. The difference is the scale: AI systems are so data-hungry and intransparent that we have even less control over what information about us is collected, what it is used for, and how we might correct or remove such personal information. Today, it is basically impossible for people using online products or services to escape systematic digital surveillance across most facets of life—and AI may make matters even worse.”  

When developing A.I. and integrating it into our medical systems, lawmakers, A.I. developers, and medical workers should all collaborate to create a cohesive system in which A.I. can ethically use and collect data for the greater good of our society. This is not a simple solution, but for A.I. to recognize its own faults and potential consequences says a lot about the gravity of the matter. We must tread carefully here as it may seem insignificant, but having your identity and medical information crosses many legal and ethical boundaries. 

To follow up, I then asked ChatGPT: As consumers of technology, is there anything we should consider or do? It then replied: 

• Be mindful of your data 

• Don’t treat A.I. as the final authority 

• Watch for bias and fairness issues 

• Support ethical use 

The bottom line is that “AI can make public health smarter and more proactive—but only if users stay informed, cautious, and engaged. Think of it as a powerful assistant, not a decision-maker.” 

I strongly agree with this consensus; we should work together with A.I., not letting it replace us entirely. I have found it a common phenomenon that nowadays, many people rely on A.I. to do their work for them, not to help them with said work. Instead of considering how A.I. can replace jobs, we should all consider how it can improve jobs and if anything, create more jobs. A.I. is a tool that can be utilized for the good of society, but like any beast, it must be controlled.