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AI Will Change the World. But How Exactly?

AI promises huge impact across every industry, from healthcare to Hollywood. But what will its impact look like?

Avi Asher-Schapiro

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What kinds of changes will AI bring to the world? Is it well on its way to “fixing the climate,” as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently suggested? Or are too many of the AI products being offered actually “snake oil,” —broken solutions that will not fix already broken institutions—as a new book by two leading AI researchers argues?

At the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s media platform, Context, this is something that we are trying to navigate carefully—we are particularly drawn to stories about how AI tools change our workplaces, and our relationship to knowledge.

The future is fuzzy. But what we can say for sure is that AI technology will power change in all directions: spurring innovations that will change our lives, but also further entrenching inequalities and disparities, and undoubtedly drawing a bright line under key questions about privacy, equality, and democracy.

While we can’t be sure what AI will make possible in the next year—let alone the next decade—here are some guesses as to what AI technology might be doing in the near future.

Image by metamorworks / Getty Images.

Reading Your Mind: The Future of Brain Privacy

Avi Asher-Schapiro: “At the Thomson Reuters Foundation’s Trust Conference, we premiered a documentary that looks at how AI has fueled massive innovation in the neurotechnology industry, making it easier for wearables like headbands and earbuds to actually read our thoughts. The implications for healthcare, consumer electronics, as well as privacy, are hard to overstate—and regulators are still grappling with how to develop guardrails.”

Thirsty Data Centres Spring up in Water-Poor Mexican Town

AA: “Our Mexico correspondent Diana Baptista has been reporting on the impact of the AI boom on the drought-wracked region of Mexico which has recently begun to host AI data centers from some of the biggest companies in the world: Microsoft, Google and Amazon. AI data centers are known to use a lot of water to cool their servers—and that could be a problem. None of the companies would tell her how much water the facilities would use, though Diana was able to get public records showing that Microsoft had obtained a concession to use about 25% of the total water in the city of Colón.”

AI and the Law: Democratising Access or Perpetuating Divide | Trust Conference 2024 | Day Two

AA: “An estimated two-thirds of the world’s population has unmet justice needs. With Chat GPT-4 famously capable of passing the US bar exam, could AI be the future of closing the justice gap by maximizing lawyers’ time? In this conversation from the Trust Conference, experts discuss the opportunities to use AI in the courtroom, as well as how lawyers can address concerns about deepfakes, bias, and inequality.”

One Year of War in Gaza: Decoding the Role of Big Tech

AA: “Many are calling the war in Gaza the “First AI War,” with the Israeli military relying on advanced AI tools to identify and pick targets. This piece, which I reported with our colleague in Beirut, looks at some of the ethical implications of this trend—and spotlights some tech workers who are trying to stop their employers selling tech tools to power a war.”

Leaked Training Shows How Doctors in New York’s Biggest Hospital System Are Using AI

AA: “Leaked documents from New York’s largest hospital system give a rare and unvarnished glimpse into how healthcare providers are experimenting with AI. It remains to be seen if the tools will help clinicians be more efficient and up the level of care, or whether it will give an excuse to reduce staffing levels and cut corners.”

AI Is Supposed to Be Hollywood’s Next Big Thing. What’s Taking So Long?

AA: “A great piece from the LA Times on the impact of AI in Hollywood—where big promises are being made about the potential for generative AI to revolutionize how movies and TV are made. So why is it taking so long?”

The Intelligence Age

AA: “For an optimistic read on the future of AI, you can go straight to the source: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman laid out his view in a recent blog post. Altman is a fascinating figure—he survived several attempts to oust him from his company, and he sees AI playing a key role in revolutionizing work, solving the climate crisis, and even establishing space colonies.”

AI Will Never Solve This

AA: “Brian Merchant—the author of a great book on the misunderstood Luddites—sounds a skeptical note here contrasting the hype about the promise of AI, with the very real devastation brought to communities across the U.S. during a recent wave of hurricanes and extreme weather events.”

Avi Asher-Schapiro

Avi Asher-Schapiro is a tech journalist based in the United States. Context is the digital news platform of the Thomson Reuters Foundation.