Artificial Intelligence has taken the world by storm in the past few years. With the inventions of ChatGPT, Grammarly, and QuillBot, most of us have either used or heard of AI. Regardless, why are so many people scared of Artificial Intelligence? AI was invented in the 1950s and simulates human intelligence through programs and algorithms. The whole fear surrounding AI is the question of whether or not it will gain the emotional intelligence of humans. Researchers predict that AI will eventually be able to obtain human intelligence but will be around for a while. Then why is society scared of Artificial Intelligence becoming sentient? Humans naturally fear things that are ‘better’ or more intelligent than us. We fear losing control, privacy, and overall human value. Many popular Sci-Fi movies focus on the fear of an ‘AI takeover’ including ‘Blade Runner 2049,’ ‘The Terminator,’ and ‘The Matrix.” These movies are highly dramatized and glorified; however, many believe AI threatens humanity. After all, AI has already taken over some jobs and is slowly taking over more and more as it continues to advance. Some jobs that have been invaded by AI include cashiers, telemarketers, and translators.

Computers are more powerful than humans when they have to give us answers to any question as fast as possible. Some AI programs can write entire essays in seconds, and others can draw 100 pictures in a minute. AI can now replicate human creativity, which was previously beyond its capabilities, and with this new adaptation to AI, technology resistors are even more fearful of this tool. There are currently around 3.5 million operational robots in the world. Many believe that with the combination of millions of robots and AI’s evolution, ‘it’ could easily take over the world. However, AI most likely won’t take over the world (anytime soon, at least). The belief that AI will take over the world is rooted in the extremist idea that these machines will become more intelligent than humans. However, Artificial Intelligence is not as aware as humans are. It lacks the emotional intelligence of humans, and without it, the machine’s decision-making skills are mostly limited, if not wholly. 

Additionally, the development of AI is done by scientists and engineers who follow strict, regulated precautions due to the emplaced legal and ethical guidelines regarding Artificial Intelligence. Since AI does not have human emotional intelligence capabilities, it does not have thoughts or motives; AI would not take over the world because it would have no reason to do so. The likely way AI would take over the world is through humans. It wouldn’t be these robots holding a revolution and destroying the world on their own; it would be humans integrating this technology everywhere into our lives. However, this is unlikely to happen due to all the resistance regarding this technology, but we will have to wait and see what happens to Artificial Intelligence.