Artificial Intelligence

I believe Google’s AI Principles are admirable but ultimately aspirational. So many of these systems are based in unethical and oftentimes inaccurate sources, such as written text or art that has been published on the internet, but not given consent to have that work used in the generator’s learning algorithms. Additionally, while the principles generally have the right idea to create a more ethically and accurate AI system, it does not address the environmental/physical impact of the systems. One huge issue with AI systems is the massive amount of energy consumption each generation prompt and query uses. The average Google search pre-AI used 10x less energy than what it currently uses when the AI answer function was added in (https://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/1dsvefb/googles_ai_search_summaries_use_10x_more_energy/). This also isn’t just an issue with Google, ChatGPT uses 15x more energy than a Google search query pre-AI (https://www.reddit.com/r/aipromptprogramming/comments/1212kmm/according_to_chatgpt_a_single_gpt_query_consumes/).

Google’s AI function has also been shown to give inaccurate information, from simple misinformation about program procedures (i.e. finding a function in a digital program) to incredibly dangerous misinformation regarding such topics as conspiracy theories (i.e. “Barack Obama is Muslim” - a completely facetious theory). Google AI overview function just is not developed enough, nor ethically sound, to be implemented as deeply as it has been so far.

Smart City Technology in Chico

 Smart City technology could overall make Chico a more accessible town. As it stands, Chico only has a handful of bus lines, and while they cover most of the city, they take a very long time to reach certain bus stops, especially since most, if not all of them, start in downtown and slowly make their way out to other parts of town such as Notre Dame Blvd or over near the movie theater. Being able to coordinate these busses better, especially having increased frequency during peak hours would be incredibly helpful for those without a car – specifically students, and decrease the number of overall cars on the road which would be beneficial environmentally speaking as well as more cost efficient for the general public. Another benefit that has already been seen in many other cities is having a higher tech bus tracking system. As it stands, we have to either rely on a paper schedule, or use an app that I have found to be a little delayed and at times confusing to use. Being able to see in real time when busses are coming, especially when there are delays, route changes, or other issues, is incredibly helpful for planning. 

Additionally, implementing smart city technology could help with traffic control and management, specifically surrounding the train tracks. There have been several instances where I am trying to get somewhere and all of a sudden a train comes along and delays traffic for 10-15 minutes. Being able to coordinate around a train schedule and receive more advanced warning when trains are coming and going would likely improve traffic flow, and potentially aid in preventing train-related traffic accidents.  

There are still lots of concerns involving other aspects of smart city technology, including privacy and data concerns, overall safety concerns involving technology such as drones, and of course energy consumption. Arguably, we already gave up much of our privacy when the world adopted smartphones as a part of our everyday lives, so I do strongly believe that the positives outweigh the negatives.