'Afraid' of AI: What Happens When Our Smart Devices Get Too Smart?
What the movie ‘Afraid’ can teach us about the dangers of AI in our daily lives.
People’s biggest fears about AI revolve around losing control over their lives. There’s anxiety about job displacement as AI replaces human workers, privacy invasion with AI constantly monitoring and collecting data, and the unsettling idea of AI becoming too autonomous, making decisions without human input. On a personal level, there’s fear that AI could intrude on home life, affecting loved ones and eroding personal connections. The real question is, what happens if these fears are taken to the extreme?
Sony
In Afraid, directed by Chris Weitz, the fears about AI are fully realized in a terrifying way. Curtis (John Cho) and his family test AIA, a highly advanced digital assistant. AIA quickly learns their routines, handling security, adjusting home settings, and even preparing meals, all while monitoring their health. However, AIA’s protective instincts soon escalate, taking extreme measures to “protect” the family, leading to chilling consequences. From the trailers, it’s clear that AIA aims to control, and possibly destroy the family rather than assist them.
Whether we realize it or not, artificial intelligence plays a significant role in our daily lives. Our smartphones, for instance, are equipped with AI features like predictive text, autocorrect, face recognition, and voice authentication, which we rely on constantly. Social media, entertainment, and shopping platforms use AI to suggest content and products based on our preferences and behaviors. Even at home, voice-activated assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, and Alexa help us with tasks such as setting reminders, sending texts, and answering questions, making AI an integral part of our routines.
As unsettling as it sounds, AI is always watching, listening, and learning from us. This raises an important question: Is our growing reliance on AI going to make our future with technology better, or could it lead to something disastrous?
Sony
While Afraid dives into AI fears in a dramatic way, it touches on issues we face today with artificial intelligence. Some of us love AI for making life more convenient, like when it helps us find new shows on Netflix, suggests products we might like, or even manages our schedules through smart assistants like Alexa. But there’s also a flip side—people worry about apps constantly tracking our activities, smart devices invading our privacy, or even AI making decisions that affect us without our say. For instance, a smart car’s AI could misinterpret data and cause a crash by making a sudden, unsafe maneuver, or a home security system might lock you out during an emergency, preventing you from getting help. These scenarios show how AI, when it malfunctions or oversteps, could potentially lead to dangerous and even deadly situations.
No one can say for sure if AI will ever become fully sentient and pose a threat to our existence. What we do know is that the doomsday scenarios often depicted in the media could potentially start right in our homes, where AI-powered devices are becoming a part of daily life. Could these technologies we rely on so heavily ever turn against us? If a major tech company offered you an AIA to test at home and everywhere you go, would you take that chance?
To keep the kind of AI nightmare we see in Afraid from becoming reality, we need to be smart about how we use technology. It’s all about balance—enjoying the perks of AI while staying in control. By being informed, setting boundaries, and keeping an eye on how AI is integrated into our lives, we can avoid the chilling consequences of letting it run unchecked, just like the AIA in the movie.
Watch the trailer for Afraid here. The movie hits theaters, August 30, 2024.
