• When the first wave of modern-day AI hype started, a lot of people I knew were worried. • Much of that worry has, so far and unfortunately, been well-founded. • AI has done a lot of what people were afraid it would do. • It’s pushed people out of jobs, consumed massive amounts of water and energy, and warped our ideas of reality, friendship, and community. • Bad look, all around. • I can’t remember when I personally became aware of AI’s rapid spread-probably 2023, like most nontechnical people.
Article Summaries:
- The article contrasts the early fears of AI-job loss, high energy use, and distorted social realities-with emerging positive applications. It highlights Fight Health Insurance, a free AI tool created by Holden Karau and Melanie Warrick, which assists consumers in appealing denied insurance claims by leveraging data on successful appeals. The author uses this project as evidence that AI can serve humanitarian purposes, countering the prevailing doom‑and‑gloom narrative. While acknowledging AI’s broader harms, the piece argues that widespread, altruistic uses like Fight Health Insurance demonstrate the technology’s potential to do meaningful good.
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