AI and the Struggle for Survival

As we look at the theme of evolution and the struggle to survive throughout this module, we cannot help but see how the world around us is changing quickly with the evolution of Artificial Intelligence (AI). As a society, we have to ask ourselves what it means to survive and thrive when AI seems to be taking over. From replacing human jobs to changing the game of medicine and warfare, do the benefits of AI outweigh the drawbacks?

While AI continues to move into the smallest corners of our lives, questions have arisen about how humans can survive and thrive with the various positives and negatives of artificial intelligence. In this lesson, we will examine several arguments through scientific, ethical, economic, and philosophical lenses and explore whether AI is our world’s greatest tool or greatest threat.

Reminders: As you read, keep the QTF process, MER technique, and lenses in mind:

QTF Process
MER Technique

Lenses:
- Economic (think poverty or class inequality)
- Cultural and Social (think about gender, race, or religious inequality)
- Historical (think about the past)
- Scientific (think about scientific research and innovation)
- Ethical (think about moral implications, rights, and responsibilities)
- Political (think about government structures, laws, and political systems)
- Philosophical (think about human nature and existence)
- Other Lens of Choice
Author Perspective: Make sure that you also think about each work below and how the author's/artist's perspective and circumstances shaped the creation of their writings.
Context and Language: Evaluate the impact of context and language on the text's reception by the audience
Context and Text Creation: Remember that when people write or speak, ideas are shaped by when, where, and why they communicate
- Think about what was happening politically or socially at the time of the writing
- Think about if you want to look at the issue through science, ethics, economics, literature, etc.
  - How do these contexts affect what the author includes, how they argue, and what they emphasize?
Organization: Analyze and evaluate the organizational structures and style the authors use to shape their thoughts and serve a specific purpose (persuade, inform, entertain, etc.)
Conflicting Information: Since these texts will offer differing opinions on AI and the struggle for survival, make sure to note where the texts disagree on matters of fact or interpretation
Use the Reading Comprehension Strategies to help you understand and analyze the texts:

Reading Assignment: “AI - The good, the bad, and the scary"

About the Author: A group of students, Florence Gonsalves, Jama Green, Alex Parrish, Tonia Moxley, Chelsea Seeber, and Ashley Williamson compiled the opinions of experts in the AI space from the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech. These experts are computer scientists, electrical engineers, aerospace engineers, and building construction experts.

Reading Assignment: Download and read "AI - The good, the bad, and the scary"

“AI - The good, the bad, and the scary" Self-Assessment

Reading Assignment: “The Pedestrian”

About the Author: Ray Bradbury lived from 1920-2012. He was an American author who has sometimes been referred to as a prophet due to how the situations in his novels ended up actually happening. He wrote a variety of fictional pieces such as novels, short stories, and plays that looked at themes surrounding how technology and censorship affect society. You will read one of his short stories titled “The Pedestrian". Set in the future, “The Pedestrian" was written in 1951 and features a society where people do nothing but watch television and rarely go outside – eerily similar to the world we see today. Bradbury’s short story warns against how technology can control society and eliminate individual thought.

Reading Assignment: Download and read “The Pedestrian"

"The Pedestrian” Self-Assessment

Practice Icon Practice on Your Own

Answer the following questions using your understanding of analysis. What evidence from the text supports your answer?

How do Bradbury's narrative techniques (archetypes, plot structure, symbolism, etc.) to develop theme or emotional effects?
What is Bradbury's purpose in writing this story?
How does his purpose influence the way he structures the story, creates a certain conflict, includes narrative devices, and/or uses other craft techniques?
What is the social relevance of the text?
How does Bradbury develop the theme across the text? Use multiple passages for evidence.
How does "The Pedestrian" draw on themes from this time period? You might need to do a bit of research here!

Reading Assignment: “On the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Economy"

About the Authors: Wein K. Solos and Dr. Joely Leonard are both economists with the Group of Economy and Development at the Division of Society and Politics (DSP), The BASE, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Solos researches how AI improves productivity while Leonard looks into how employment dynamics and policy can reduce inequality caused by AI. In the article you will read, Solos and Leonard work together to review how AI impacts the economy and affects productivity and income inequality in order to influence policy.

Reading Assignment: Download and read “On the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Economy"

“On the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Economy" Self-Assessment

Reading Assignment: “The World is Too Much With Us"

About the Author: William Wordsworth was an important English Romantic poet who lived from 1770-1850. Remember that the poets of the Romantic period focused turning your focus and love towards nature and away from the industrial society that was growing in the cities during the time period. Wordsworth wrote about the beauty of the natural world, and in his sonnet that you will read, “The World is Too Much With Us", he focuses on how an obsession with material things is dangerous because we lose our connection to nature and our true purpose in life.

Reading Assignment: Download and read “The World is Too Much With Us"

“The World is Too Much With Us" Self-Assessment

Reading Assignment: “The impact of artificial intelligence on human society and bioethics”

About the Author: Michael Cheng-Tek Tai, a Taiwanese bioethics educator, was born in 1943 in Taiwan. He earned his higher degrees in North America before going back to Taiwan and taking his position as the Chair Professor and Dean of the Department of Medical Sociology and Social Work at Chung Shan Medical University in Taichung. In Tai’s article that you will read, he looks at how AI affects all aspects of the world around us – industry, society, and bioethics – while providing ethical principles for the development of AI.

Reading Assignment: Download and read “The impact of artificial intelligence on human society and bioethics”

“The impact of artificial intelligence on human society and bioethics” Self-Assessment

[CC BY-NC-SA 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION - INTENDED ONLY FOR USE WITHIN THE LESSON.

Solos, Wein, and Joel Leonard. “On the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Economy Rapid Advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) Will Have a Dramatic Impact on the Global Economy. This Paper Provides a Systematic Review of the Economic Impact of AI, Focusing on the Promotion of AI on Productivity and Economic Growth; the Impact of AI on Labor Employ- Ment; and the Question of Whether AI Will Increase Income Inequality.” Science Insights, vol. 41, no. 1, 2022, pp. 551–60, https://doi.org/10.15354/si.22.re066. Accessed 18 June 2025.

Tai, Michael Cheng-Tek. “The impact of artificial intelligence on human society and bioethics.” Tzu chi medical journal vol. 32,4 339-343. 14 Aug. 2020, doi:10.4103/tcmj.tcmj_71_20