Jump on the Bandwagon
We Officially Jumped on the Bandwagon
Eight of the top ten projects at the Science Talent Search, a competition for this country’s best and brightest high school researchers, were projects that involved artificial intelligence (AI). Even at our South Florida science and engineering fair, the winning project in each category was an AI project. What happened to testtubes and beakers? When did this all happen? Yesterday, last month, last year? It feels like I blinked, and WHAM, it appeared. Did our InvenTeam jump on the bandwagon with our invention? Our AI device that monitors the migration of frogs back into an area of restoration in the Everglades is a real “game changer.” The device listens to the sounds of frogs and then identifies the frogs that made the sounds. We compiled a library of frog sounds and then trained our device to match a live frog call with a frog in our library. For years, humans had to sit on boats during the nights and listen to the sounds of frogs and then write down the frogs they heard. Frogs serve as indicators of environmental health in the Everglades. They are sensitive to changes in water quality and habitat conditions. By monitoring frog populations, scientists can better understand the overall health of the Everglades ecosystem. The greater the diversity of non-invasive frogs the better a restoration project is going. There are millions of dollars at stake with this monitoring of frogs. Wow, you may think, our simple, but advanced AI device is so great. However, do not jump to conclusions.
We don’t want to get too philosophical here, but like it or not, AI is already here, there is no turning back. We all have to accept that. It’s called progress. AI has the potential to revolutionize the way we live, work, and interact with each other. AI can be used to solve complex problems, automate mundane tasks such as listening to frogs, and improve efficiency in various industries. For example, in healthcare, AI can be used to diagnose diseases and develop personalized treatment plans, while in manufacturing, AI can optimize production processes to reduce costs and increase productivity. This sounds great!
However, there are also potential downsides to the development of AI. One concern is the possibility of job displacement, as AI can automate many jobs that were once performed by humans, such as park rangers listening to frogs. This can result in widespread unemployment and economic disruption. Additionally, there are concerns about the ethical implications of AI, such as the potential for bias in decision-making algorithms, the loss of privacy due to increased surveillance, and the risk of misuse by governments or corporations.
We want to thank everyone at Lemelson-MIT and our teachers at iPrep Academy North for this amazing invention process. From start to finish, everyone here at iPrep Academy North learned much more than we ever could have learned by just sitting in a classroom. We hope that great teachers will never be replaced by AI machines, and that future generations will still have the opportunity to go to school in-person and have a unique experience like this. It is essential to carefully consider the risks of AI and implement safeguards to ensure that the benefits of AI are maximized while minimizing its potential negative impacts. We invite everyone to jump on the bandwagon, we already did.
