Tag Archives: technology

Opinion

Will AI Take Over The World?

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By: Emma Hersey, ’29

Staff Writer

The concept of Artificial Intelligence, or AI, has been around for a long time, dating back to around the 1950s. It started with just chatbots on your computer, and now you can create original images, text, videos and more. The world has changed significantly due to AI, but as with all progress, it can have a downside. AI has already done much good, but what damage will follow close behind?

Recently, AI has been very popular among students. It is a quick and easy way to get your work done without having to think too hard on your own. But using AI to complete your work will only cause harm to yourself. Getting your work done is important, but there is no point in homework if you don’t complete it yourself. Using AI doesn’t help you to know the material and actually learn it. The grading system has become more uptight because of the increase in AI usage. AI checkers can be controversial because they are programmed to see em dashes (a long horizontal dash that emphasizes a claud) and Oxford commas (the comma before “and” or “or” in a list) as indicators of AI. But in fact, these are just basic grammar tools. Now, people who use Oxford commas and em dashes might be flagged down by a teacher for the use of AI.

With the recent popularity and interest in AI, there has been a surge in the abilities that these tools can accomplish in a matter of seconds. Due to the complex code behind AI, it has been able to take the place of many jobs, thus putting humans out of work. Jobs such as editing, manufacturing, bookkeeping, customer service and graphic design are among those impacted by AI. If someone wanted to use AI to write and sell a book, it would be possible. AI tools can write the chapters, edit the pages, create the cover, have it published and manufactured, keep track of its financial standing. If there are any problems with the customers, AI can accommodate them. These five jobs listed are all part of the process that goes into creating and selling a book. If the decrease in jobs for humans remains steady, AI could displace 6-7 percent of the population’s current jobs. 

AI has become a staple of everyday life, to the point that some people don’t even realize they’re using it. To be able to predict things, AI uses your past actions and creates a pattern to follow to anticipate what will happen next. Google, autocorrect, face recognition and personalized recommendations are all examples of the AI that is integrated into your everyday life. When you pick up your phone and unlock it with Face ID, turn on a recommended playlist based on your prior listening, and use automatic correction in Google search, these are all ways that AI works behind the scenes. While many debate the use of AI in school and the workplace, it is hard to argue that we haven’t benefitted from the increased efficiency and personalization.

AI allows tasks that require human intelligence to be completed via computer; it helps with problem-solving, decision-making, etc. Though this is created by computers and loads of complex data coding, the system is not perfect and leaves room for misinterpretation. Most people in this world do not have a higher level of intelligence than AI, but human thinking will always be superior. This idea of higher human thinking is shown when making important court decisions. AI can always present wrong output, and that can put the client’s freedom and privacy at risk. Information coming out of AI would be expected to be correct, but there can always be AI hallucinations in which it presents false evidence to set forth. It is also risky to put in the information of your client for the AI to do its job, because that would be a breach of confidentiality of the client. This now gives the people managing and overseeing the program information about your client. That information that you put in will also be remembered by the system. AI is not a perfect system and cannot always be trusted; this is why the human brain will always be superior regarding AI.

AI is everywhere, even in places that you don’t expect it. There are many benefits that come with using AI, but it also has its drawbacks. The use of this technological tool is enabling cheating and lowering the integrity of education. It is impacting the job market. In the future, its reach could be even more extensive than it already is. AI has become a fundamental part of our world, but will it get to a point where it is the world? When considering the seemingly limitless potential of technology, we must think about not just what AI can do, but what it should do. AI is just at the beginning of its full potential, so what will the world look like when AI reaches its full capacity? What will the world look like? Will there still be humans? Will AI take over? We are only at the advent of our journey to figure out this question.

 Works Cited

Balto. “Examples of AI in Everyday Life.” Balto, 2 July 2021, www.balto.ai/blog/how-ai-already-impacts-our-lives-in-unforeseen-ways/. 

Goldman Sachs. “How Will AI Affect the Global Workforce?” Goldmansachs.com, 13 Aug. 2025, www.goldmansachs.com/insights/articles/how-will-ai-affect-the-global-workforce.

Marr, Bernard. “5 Reasons Why Artificial Intelligence Really Is Going to Change Our World | Bernard Marr.” Bernard Marr, 2 July 2021, bernardmarr.com/5-reasons-why-artificial-intelligence-really-is-going-to-change-our-world/.

Thomson Reuters. “Key Legal Issues with Generative AI for Legal Professionals.” Thomson Reuters Law Blog, 1 Mar. 2024, legal.thomsonreuters.com/blog/the-key-legal-issues-with-gen-ai/. 

Urwin, Matthew. “AI Taking over Jobs: What to Know about the Future of Jobs.” Built In, 15 May 2025, builtin.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-replacing-jobs-creating-jobs. 

Entertainment, Opinion

Twelve-hour TikTok Ban, Months of Uncertainty

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By Danny Campbell, ’27

Staff Writer

Normally I don’t like diving crazy deep into political topics (I actually hate politics strongly, and I’d be much happier without it in my life), but the argument over banning the app TikTok has been boggling my mind since 2022. With it now partially banned in the U.S, I felt like weighing in on the debate.

You are probably aware that on Jan. 19, the bill to have the popular social media app TikTok permanently banned in the U.S. went into effect . . . for 12 hours. Last April, Congress cited national security concerns to pass a law banning the app in this country if it wasn’t sold by its Chinese owner. But when Donald Trump became president on Jan. 20, he signed an executive order delaying the law for 75 days, even though he himself tried to have TikTok banned back in 2020! So while the app now works for current users, it can’t be downloaded by new users — or anyone who deleted it when they heard the ban was coming.

But why ban TikTok and not other social media platforms like YouTube or Instagram? Politicians have been talking about a ban since 2020 because of major security concerns regarding its owner, ByteDance. Like all social media and websites we use, TikTok collects user data. But since it’s owned by a Chinese company, it has to hand over that data to the government, the Chinese Communist Party. The CCP and the U.S. government aren’t exactly the best of friends. Lawmakers and the U.S. Department of Justice argue that TikTok could be used by the Chinese government to spread misinformation and that user data could be misused. Critics of a ban say there’s no proof the CCP has done anything wrong and a ban violates free speech. The law was challenged all the way to the Supreme Court, who on Jan. 17 ruled in favor of a potential ban if the company isn’t sold.

So where do things stand now? President Trump, tech innovator Elon Musk and others are talking about having an American company or even the U.S. government buy TikTok, or at least half of it. ByteDance has long said the app is not for sale. So what will happen on April 5, when the 75-day executive order expires, is up in the air. TikTok says its 170 million American users spent nearly an hour a day on the app in 2024, according to the BBC News.

I, for one, have never once used TikTok and at first I saw why the government wanted to ban it. But then I wondered, what is the Chinese government going to do with user data? If you think about it, the only people the Chinese government really wants to keep an eye on is those who work for the U.S. government. In this case, banning the app from government devices is a smart move and should be enough. In my opinion, a larger ban is not needed for ordinary users. The worst thing that the app can do is reduce our attention spans.

Right now, it’s anybody’s game. According to CNN, Americans since the ban have started downloading an app by the name of Xiaohongshu, also known as RedNote, another Chinese-owned social media platform. If the U.S government is concerned about the CCP getting Americans’ data from TikTok, RedNote is probably far worse, and would also likely be banned. Banning social media is a very slippery slope, because if the U.S bans TikTok and other ByteDance products like CapCut, what’s next? If this is considered constitutional, the U.S can ban basically anything it deems dangerous. 

In addition to TikTok, many other Chinese-owned companies are used by Americans, including video game makers. Tencent is a Chinese conglomerate that owns a small portion of Epic Games (the creators of Fortnite) and much larger portions of Supercell (the makers of Clash Of Clans) and Riot Games (League Of Legends). With the law to ban TikTok, the U.S. government could go after companies like these. The situation is a disaster.