OPINION | When I Grow Up.

𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐𝘭𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺: Krizia Mae Soliza

Skill is meaningless with AI. We dreamt of the future—of occupations we longed for as children. Repeating the words "When I grow up I will be..." now reduced to hollow sentences. Within recent years, artificial intelligence has undergone significant development, from generating images and videos to improving its performance in cognitive tasks. Despite these advancements, it has yet to prove useful for humanity. It kills dreams, jobs, and expertise.

With the implementation of AI in workspaces, it can lead to the displacement or the complete elimination of jobs (Canuto, 2024). The automation of repetitive tasks and routine cognitive work targets most white-collar jobs, leading to economic inequality—hindering growth and job opportunities. The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Development Policies and Analysis Division's director (UN DESA DPAD)—Pingfan Hong—stated that although it has been thoroughly studied that advancement in technologies can produce a wide variety of recent occupations and improvements in our economy, it goes without saying that it will cause strain for certain people and communities.

Generative AI images and videos are frequently utilized for entertainment purposes. With a few simple prompts and a click of a button, your vision materializes by means of ChatGPT, Cici, or Meta AI. It is not a form of creativity by the AI itself, but the creativity of whoever decided the prompt; however, this still limits the imagination. Through the repeated generation of the input instructions in the AI, it will continue to produce the same image with minimal change, not leaving any room for creativity (Brem & Hörauf, 2025). The same applies to generating texts or essays. It destroys the ability of the human mind to expound on its capabilities, causing an over reliance on AI and loss in critical thinking.

Generative AI art has also given the public a far more contrasting respect for art and artists, considering AI is easier or far superior to its human counterparts, insinuating that "AI can do it far easier and faster." AI art stems from data scraping, a practice where images and art across the internet are relayed into the model and produce an artwork similar to the original artist's (Olson, 2024). Albeit not considered a crime, artists are often uncompensated for their creations, where they often rely on their artwork for commissions. AI art is not affected by copyright or the intellectual property code, despite integrating works from artists, but it should be heavily considered a crime.

With the automation of mundane tasks, data analysis, and decision-making, the implementation of AI in businesses and workplaces significantly reduces cost and waste (Snow, 2026). AI-powered systems greatly improve the flow of job spaces, but what may be prominent may also come at a cost. AI has shown significant risk factors not only ethically but also environmentally, with statistics showing that ChatGPT-3 has used 185,000 liters of water, a simple prompt costing 500 mL of water (Weingarden, 2024). The use of AI is actively wasting natural resources at the expense of "making things easier." Ethically, privacy is always at risk, with AI requiring large amounts of data and sensitive information to be powered—as well as security not being guaranteed, as AI can also be used for malicious intent (Stewart, 2024).

Do we truly still have hope for our future? Certainly. Though AI poses threats and risks to our future, through legal frameworks and guidelines, it can be controlled. Nonetheless, the natural art and passion of humanity should stay with humans and away from artificial intelligence. It is to preserve natural talent and skill, viewing them as mastery rather than something that can be easily automated and replaced.

When I grow up, I wish to see a future where passion can be practical.

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