Priest Cautions Media, Students Against Overdependence On AI

Media professionals and Students have been cautioned not to allow the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) enslave and take away their human creativity in their reportage and studies even as it is used to increase efficiency and productivity.

Rev. Father Terungwa Tor who gave the advice during a training organised by the Catholic Media Professionals Association Of Nigeria (CAMPAN) in conjunction with the Directorate of Communications, Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, said in as much as AI technology improves accuracy and precision, enhances decision making capabilities among others, it also has a lot of disadvantages.

In a presentation titled; “Introduction to Artificial Intelligence: Pros and Cons”, Rev. Fr. Tor said the major disadvantage of the technology is that thousands of people stand the risk of losing their jobs, which can lead to increase in crime.

“AI systems can also portend security and privacy risks because systems can be vulnerable to cyberattacks and data breaches, compromising sensitive information,” he said.
He said poor-quality data can lead to inaccurate or misleading results by AI which could affect organisations in a negative way.

“The production and disposal of AI hardware can contribute to environmental issues like e-waste and energy consumption, which may be harmful to humans,” he added.
In his address, the director of social communications, Revd. Fr. Moses Iorapuu said the training which was to commemorate the 2024 Communications Week with the theme, ‘Artificial Intelligence and the Wisdom of the Heart: Towards a Fully Human Communication’ was aimed at exposing journalists and students to the usefulness, advantages and disadvantages of AI.

Fr Iorapuu warned against placing total trust on the technology and neglecting human knowledge and understanding.