'Skynet will awaken', 'taking over', 'inevitable'. What do you think of AI?

Global South World asked people across three continents whether they were scared of AI.

Here's some of what they said.

You can share your opinions on our Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or X posts.

Bangkok, Thailand

Ayush: "Sometimes people are like: 'Oh, don’t you know that AI is going to take over your job?' because I'm a writer. I'm like: 'Actually, no, because I use AI to write. If you guys knew the f*cking garbage that comes out of ChatGPT' [..] So not right now. Maybe in five years."

Ethan: "No, it’s really helpful. You can make a lot of sh*t with it. Like arts."

Grace: "It's just an assistant [...] We will just have to integrate it into our lives. But use it wisely."

Mahmoud: "I would say cautious. I wouldn't say scared. [...] It can be used as a tool. It could also be used as a weapon."

Aiden: "I'm not scared of AI. It was inevitable. I have watched enough of Asimov’s movies, I, Robot, Terminator... There need to be checks and balances in place. Especially for privacy reasons because we still don't have any policies in place to address that. Governments need to be on top of that."

Azman: "I don't think so. The power is with us because we, as humans, have the ability to adapt and change."

Aiya: "I really do. I feel it's taking over us, and the next generation is not going to think as much as the old generation, like us."

Yuta: "Yeah, because I watched Terminator. It's like Skynet will awaken one day. Because they do remember. They always remember."

Fam: "AI gives you an opportunity to not think. A lot of people are lazy these days. So, I don't know... Maybe it's good, maybe it's not."

Kim: "Yes and no. People are going to have a better life, but there will also be a lot of fake news."

Larry: "Under controlled circumstances, it could be good. If we rely on it too much, we'll end up like Terminator."

Accra, Ghana

Nancy: "I'm a little bit scared of AI. Though it is doing good, helping us with tasks and all that, it's somehow making us become a bit incompetent."

Shadrach: "No. AI is a revolutionary tool that helps to facilitate information."

Joyceline: "I'm not scared of AI. It's only here to help us. AI can't take away everything completely from the human force."

Ernest: "For me, as a student, it helps us to do the work, research, all our projects. So, it's good. I'm not afraid of it."

Ansah: "I'm not scared. I'm glad AI is around."

Evans: "We need AI to help us enhance our thinking, elevate our thinking, and help us get better data analysis."

Godwin: "No, I'm not scared of AI. I actually use AI."

Ruth: "It has come to stay, so we should just learn to integrate it into our daily activities."

Samuel: "No, I'm not. I mean, why? It's only people who are not forward thinkers who will be scared of technology. Technology is here to help us. In my workplace, I use it every day."

John: "I'm scared. I'm a carpenter. If AI should be applied in my part of work, it means I'm going to be deprived of my job. How do I survive? AI is applicable in vast areas. It's a threat not to me alone, but to humanity in general."

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Erleyvaldo: "Of course not. I believe that technology is important for humanity."

Eduardo: "Yes, I think so. There are young people who already know more than adults. And us, old people, don’t know."

Tarcio: "Yes, I think so. This idea of wanting to replace humans is very dangerous."

Victoria: "A lot. I think about it every night before going to sleep and every morning when I wake up. And I think that maybe my children won’t be able to find a job."

Brenno: "It’s a bit strange. When you ask it something, it knows everything, it has its own reasoning… I'm a bit hesitant about that."

Silvia: "It's like a knife. You can use a knife to cut ingredients and make a wonderful meal. And you can also use it to hurt someone or yourself."

Mayara: "Yes. It's going to put an end to many people’s jobs. Cashiers, attendants… It’s all going to be automated, robotised, computerised."

Anderson: "I think so. Especially with robots, because in 20 years they will take over, right? Jobs. One robot will do the job of 20 people."

Maria: "It's kind of scary. It’s very advanced."

Tokyo, Japan

Interviewee 1: "I don't think it's going to affect me, but I know it will affect some people, like those in art. So maybe a little bit scared."

Interviewee 2: "Not necessarily scared. I just think it's causing a lot of harm, especially in creative fields. [...] If all the art I'm seeing is AI art, I think that would be quite sad."

Interviewee 3: "I don't think it's going to take everyone's jobs like people are worried about. I work in film, so I'm not too stressed that someone's going to start writing better films than me or taking better videos than me."

Interviewee 4: "I'm mildly scared of AI. The main problem is the fact that it's such a new piece of technology and it's so powerful that the legislation isn't caught up."

Interviewee 5: "Not at the moment. I think that it's easier for a lot of news outlets to fearmonger about AI. It's particularly profitable to do so. But we should definitely regulate. Otherwise, things will get bad very quickly."

Interviewee 6: "No. I think people think AI can do more things than it actually can."

Interviewee 7: "Yeah, a bit. I feel like a few years into the future, it's going to be doing bad things."

A Global South World video series

This video is part of a Global South World’s series exploring global opinions on pressing issues.

You can share your thoughts on our Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, or X posts.

In previous videos we asked:

• Is the US a friendly power?

Stay tuned for more perspectives.