Reprinted with permission from Brunswick County Early College High School’s The Firebird Times.

Is Artificial Intelligence (AI) the new tractor? This is a question you might not ponder unless you go back to when the tractor was first introduced. The tractor, just like Artificial Intelligence, was heavily skepticized when it was first introduced to the public. Farmers did not believe that it could work as fast as horses or oxen or do as much as those animals. Now, however, in modern day, the tractor is used all over the world in fields. In fact, the tractor, for the most part, has replaced horses. Is this what will happen with AI? Is AI like a tractor in the sense that it will be skepticized but later accepted and replace the “old way of doing things?”

It is my belief that AI is our friend, not our foe. Artificial Intelligence is useful, as it allows us to do things that were once only capable by man. This allows us to progress and grow as a society and explore new frontiers. AI might replace jobs, but in order to maintain the upkeep of AI, jobs will always be available. In my opinion, AI is the only answer to continue on with the intellectual evolution of man, just as the tractor was the only answer to the agricultural evolution. 

The tractor led to a new agricultural revolution in the 1920’s, which helped to further progress agricultural processes and create a competitive market for tractor manufacturers. So, will the same thing happen with AI? The answer to that question is yes. According to UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, AI is and will continue to be “The Fourth Industrial Revolution.” This will lead to the development of AI in two phases, the first being the use of AI being implemented into all current industries, and the second being the creation of all new industries. According to an article published by UNESCO, Artificial Intelligence is “reshaping” human society, pushing it forward. 

When we look at the potentials for AI, we can find two possibilities: the use of it for good and the use of it for nefarious purposes. An example of the use for good would be the development of new medicines and vaccines. According to the National Institute of Health, Pfizer, a drug manufacturing company, used Artificial Intelligence throughout the development of its Covid-19 vaccine. This allowed the vaccine to meet the needs of the individuals that received it and be available and marketed sooner to help those who needed it the most. However, on the other hand, AI can be used to prevent the tracking of criminals on the Dark Web and optimize their operations. But, if countries manage AI, just as they manage cell phones, then inappropriate uses could be mitigated to the fullest extent possible.

To look at AI as the new tractor might be difficult, but the underlying theme between the two is skepticism followed by acceptance and transformative progress. When we look back through society, we can find that the tractor was not the only technology about which people were skeptical. The telegraph, computers, and even talking in movies are all other examples of ideas, inventions, innovations that were met with suspicion when they were first introduced. Now, we see those things as normal. There is even a new tractor that is autonomous and uses AI to cut grass. So, even though AI is new, it has the strong potential to be our friend, not our foe, just like the tractor.