Artificial Intelligence (AI). Every company seems to want to do something with it these days. It was announced last week that ASML became a co-owner of European AI competitor Mistral AI for an amount of 1.3 billion euros. That says something about the potential of AI, a potential we highlighted in a previous blog and proudly communicated this summer that we are leading in this area.
However, where it was originally considered as merely a type of 'super Google', the tool has now also led to many abuses, and the term "AI" has come into the news quite negatively several times over the past few years. Not necessarily AI itself, of course, but it is often in the accusatory headlines because it underlies the relevant unethical practices—practices that once seemed impossible.
The positive side
Let's start with the positive aspect of using AI. As I write this, I recall my first admiration for AI: on December 8, 2022, I asked ChatGPT to write a story about Delft, 100 words long, with a quote from Johan Cruijff. Eight seconds later the story was complete (now it does it in 4 seconds). Amazing. Since then, the use of AI has brought about even greater changes that benefit the world.
For instance, AI is being used by The Ocean Cleanup to remove plastic from the ocean and protect marine ecosystems. Medical institutions also absolutely see the benefits. Radboudumc revealed last month that AI can often detect tumors earlier in the breast cancer screening program compared to radiologists. The Federation of Medical Specialists confirms this and states that "the rapid developments in AI technology offer opportunities to improve the quality of care and support medical specialists in their daily work." In the business domain, AWS found that of the companies that have already implemented AI, 27% experience revenue growth and 71% experience increased productivity.
So, plenty of benefits claimed by reputable institutions. Even the Dutch government, the highest authority in the Netherlands, indicates that AI development can contribute to efficiency. It is therefore not surprising that the NRC stated last week that companies are investing heavily in AI. After all, we launched “Annie”, our generative AI copywriter, just last week. This is also entirely positive and will only help companies.
The negative side
If using AI only had advantages, we wouldn't be writing this blog. We are regularly asked, "Has a lot been done with AI in the platform?" Sometimes the question is out of interest in technical advancements, other times from a cautious perspective. People seem to be more on guard, leading to the feeling that there is a negative connotation surrounding AI in various contexts.
This feeling was reinforced by a lot of negative reporting about AI. Last year, it became clear that AI is being used for phishing emails, where more people 'fell for' fake links than before. NPO added to this by stating that AI tools could make you appear naked based on a photo with a single click. Shortly after, it became clear that fraudsters could easily forge documents with AI for fake insurance claims. Lastly, last week it was announced that a hacker used an AI agent for stealing data and extorting victims, with damages reaching $500,000 per victim.
All reprehensible cases, especially the last three, were unimaginable before the use of AI.
The verdict
The potential of Artificial Intelligence is enormous, as the benefits demonstrate once again. Unfortunately, AI can also be used for malicious intent. However, we believe that these malicious intents, such as phishing, fraud, and hacking, have existed for years. And yes, AI is now being used for them.
Our verdict is that there is nothing wrong with using AI, but with a small portion that uses it maliciously. We believe it is the responsibility of providers like Claude and OpenAI to combat such unethical practices. This can include improved regulation, better security, and a strict ethical code. This way, AI can only be used to help the world.
