You hear about artificial intelligence everywhere — in the news, at Giant Eagle, even at Pirates Games (because, really, who wants to watch the game). But how much of what you’ve heard is actually true? AI is one of those things everyone’s talking about — but not always getting right. The truth is, AI is already making life online faster, easier, and a whole lot smarter — and no, you don’t need to panic. As your local internet team, we’re here to bust some of the biggest myths and show you what’s really going on behind the scenes.
To begin, most of the AI you encounter is a type of Generative AI called Large Language Models or LLM. To break it down simply, LLMs are programs that have been fed an enormous amount (hence large) of data and content (hence language) to train it to recognize and generate (hence generative AI) text. The program then creates content for the user in the form of responses from a chatbot or an essay, poem, or text in a program like ChatGPT.
So now that we have the basics, let’s look into some of the most common myths we hear.
Myth #1 – “AI Can Think Just Like a Human”
The Myth: People believe artificial intelligence has human-like consciousness or emotions.
The Truth: Say you are sick. Instead of going to the doctor, you can enter your symptoms into an AI model, and it will compare what is ailing you against thousands of articles, resources, and medical websites. And often, if you’re trying to determine between a cold and the flu, you may be able to identify which one you have. But that is only because it can analyze the information at hand. It doesn’t understand what you are going through. It can’t look at your throat or hear what your cough sounds like. AI mimics patterns but doesn’t “think” or “feel” — it calculates and predicts.
Myth #2 – “AI Will Replace Every Job”
The Myth: Artificial intelligence is coming for everyone’s jobs.
The Truth: AI is transforming the workforce — automating some tasks but creating new roles and industries. AI helps many roles at many organizations and may even improve, but because it cannot think, it will always need human oversight and intervention.
Machines will always need a person to give them a prompt. It can’t provide an answer without someone asking it a question. A human will always need to review for errors or expand the information into something helpful. It has never been our experience that an LLM has generated a perfect response to a prompt. So you shouldn’t “set it and forget it,” as the old infomercials used to say.
Look at the AI-generated image we used for this post. The Point Park fountain is on the wrong side of the river. Most of the buildings are right, but not all, and they’re not all in the right places. And we have no idea what the black suspension wires are. A bridge with no actual surface to travel across?
The content it generates for your prompt may be a good starting point, but it won’t give you a finished masterpiece. It’s helpful to think of artificial intelligence as giving you the clay you can craft and mold into what you need.
Myth #3 – “AI Is 100% Objective and Unbiased”
The Myth: Machines are neutral, so their decisions must be fair.
The Truth: AI can inherit human biases through training data and design. GIGO is an old computer adage that stands for “garbage in, garbage out”, meaning that if it starts with bad or incomplete information, it won’t be able to magically improve it.
We’re not saying that LLMs are created using bad information, but humans are imperfect, and all of the information that AI is based on is created by humans. AI will have the same implicit and explicit biases and blind spots. Suppose technology companies in Silicon Valley are developing the majority of AI. In that case, it will intrinsically reflect the people creating it, not that is the intention, but it cannot incorporate things that it doesn’t know. So, there could be information, experiences, and historical contexts that aren’t being taken into consideration.
Myth #4 – “Only Big Tech Companies Can Use AI”
The Myth: AI tools are out of reach for small businesses and individuals.
The Truth: Accessible platforms (like ChatGPT, Canva’s AI features, chatbots, etc.) put AI tools in nearly everyone’s hands. Organizations of any size can use AI to strengthen their day-to-day operations or improve customer service. No matter the size of your organization, AI is a good tool to have in your arsenal. It is a great place to start when you need to brainstorm or are stuck trying to solve a problem. Have AI summarize your meeting notes so you can focus on the discussion rather than take notes. Again, use it as a tool and it can help you in several different ways.
Myth #5 – “AI Is Dangerous and Should Be Banned”
The Myth: AI is inherently evil and uncontrollable.
The Truth: AI, like any technology, reflects how humans choose to build and regulate it. Responsible development is key. It is important to look at how it is being built, who is using it, and who benefits from it.
At Green Light, we do love all things green, and it is important to know that AI takes a lot of resources beyond the energy you use when you plug your computer in. Large, temperature-controlled data centers use a lot of energy, produce a lot of carbon dioxide, and require a lot of water to cool the large pieces of hardware these models run on.
Let’s chat — we speak human, not robot. Green Light Wireless provides affordable and reliable Internet services. Are you considering switching? Contact us or explore our plans today!