BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Industry leaders and students gathered at Vermont’s annual Tech Jam at HULA to discuss artificial intelligence and its potential impact on society.
More than 1,000 people attended Saturday’s event, where AI dominated conversations among tech experts from various fields.
Will Jefferies, a consultant for tech companies with Accelerate Vermont, said the technology has reached a critical juncture.
“I think we’re at a really pivotable point in this powerful technology,” Jefferies said. “We could end up suffering serious consequences in a negative way or we could see improvements in quality of life in the world or un sustainability itself.”
Jefferies, who works with startups and companies making transitions, believes now is the time to discuss creating ethical AI.
Loc Nguyen from Marvell Technology compared AI to driving a car, noting both the benefits and risks.
“Technology itself is beneficial to me, but at the same time with any other technology we have to be careful with how to use it,” Nguyen said.
U-32 sophomore Katie Irwin raised concerns about AI’s environmental impact, noting studies show each 100-word AI prompt uses roughly one bottle of water.
Irwin also worries about students who rely on AI for learning and schoolwork.
“It’s not always accurate a lot of the time, so sometimes you get misinformation and that can really delay your learning,” Irwin said.
Despite her concerns, Irwin uses AI to help code robots for school competitions.
Erik Iverson of South Burlington said AI saves him hours at his coding job, allowing him to focus on other tasks. However, he hopes the technology doesn’t diminish human experiences.
“As long as we keep it contained and compartmentalized and making humans better instead of replacing them, that’s the best vision that I see,” Iverson said.
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