John O’ Suillivan goes into depth about the history of AI.
FLYNN MYERS/ THE QUADRANGLE
By Flynn Myers, Contributor
On Oct. 16 in De La Salle Hall, a discussion was held on AI in the workplace by Manhattan University alum John O’Sullivan, a data and AI specialist for Microsoft.
The presentation discussed the journey of AI, how it can be used in the workplace and how AI is influencing people everyday, even when they don’t notice. The presentation discussed how this is done, ranging from algorithms on TikTok to advertisements generated from website cookies.
According to the presentation, AI was first developed in 1956 and has only become more prevalent in the 21st century. The popularity of AI has sparked concerns and questions as it has become more operable to use in the general public.
Nicole Mackin, a junior business analytics major, spoke about her skepticism regarding AI development. She emphasized how she believes her view on AI has changed because it has been proven to her that it can be used as a more efficient tool in the workplace.
“I [thought], ‘is this going to take over human things? Is it going to become dangerous?’,” Mackin said. “The more that I personally learn about it, I’m more okay with it, and I feel like it is more of a tool that we can use to progress the way we do things and make things more efficient.”
While many people have become more familiar with AI and its many formats, there are still people who have raised their concerns on the acceleration of AI’s progress.
Hany Guirguis, O’Malley School of Business interim dean, expressed his apprehension on the growth that AI has made in the past few years, as well as how AI may contribute to people not understanding material or asking the right questions.
“This is the biggest challenge that your generation will face, because they want easy answers that are accurate and appealing,” Guirguis said. “Are you willing to wait with the time and therefore to understand what’s behind it? Do we have to learn what they are doing, or do we just get results from them?”
During the event, O’Sullivan spoke about how AI is not a level above us, but can help us level up in our careers, only if we learn how to use it to our advantage. AI is developed and based on human knowledge and is found to only progress when we make progress.
“The way we look at this is the computer is not doing anything you can’t do,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s just accelerating your time to value and helping you get to the right results that you want and hopefully make you more successful and get more value from products. There is nothing stopping any of you from getting really good at this.”
Individuals at the event pinpointed that there is a need to learn how to use ever-evolving AI to our advantage. AI can be something we can work with rather than have it working against us.
Guirguis discussed that if people understand AI and take advantage of it very quickly that AI won’t seem as intimidating.
“It’s glamorous and great, but I’m worried about other things, not for my generation, it will be for your generation,” Guirguis said. “But it will come down to knowing what you are doing.”