TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC HÀ NỘI
ARGUMENTATIVE RESEARCH ESSAY
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AS A
THREAT TO HUMANITY’S FUTURE: A
CRITICAL EXAMINATION
Người hướng dẫn: M.A Nguyễn Thanh Hương
Họ và tên sinh viên
Mã số sinh viên
Đào Quang Minh
2207010165
Bùi Hồng Thiết
2307010302
Trần Thị Tuyết Trinh
2007010335
Lớp: 6A-23
Hà Nội, 2025
OUTLINE
Introduction
●
AI’s rapid integration into society raises concerns among risks and benefits.
●
Statement: AI poses significant threats, including job displacement, ethical
dilemmas, and loss of control over advanced systems.
Body
A. AI and Job Displacement
● Automation is replacing human labor, increasing unemployment.
● Economic inequality worsens as AI takes over skilled jobs.
B. Ethical Issues in AI
● AI biases lead to discrimination in hiring, policing, and healthcare.
● Opaque AI decision-making raises accountability concerns.
C. Risk of Losing Control Over AI
● AI could surpass human intelligence, leading to unpredictable outcomes.
● Potential existential threats if AGI becomes autonomous.
D. Counter-Argument: AI as a Tool for Progress
● AI enhances healthcare, research, and industry innovation.
● Regulations can mitigate risks and ensure responsible AI use.
E. Rebuttal: Challenges in AI Regulation
● Rapid AI advancement outpaces regulatory efforts.
● Global cooperation on AI policies remains inconsistent
Conclusion
●
AI’s threats outweigh its benefits if left unchecked.
●
Governments and industries must establish strict regulations.
●
Call for responsible AI development to safeguard humanity.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a powerful force in shaping modern
society, enhancing efficiency, productivity, and innovation across various sectors
such as healthcare, education, transportation, and manufacturing. As its presence
grows, so does its influence-raising urgent questions about its broader implications.
While AI offers numerous benefits, it also introduces significant risks that cannot be
ignored. This essay critically examines the potential threats AI poses to humanity’s
future, including job displacement, ethical dilemmas, and loss of human autonomy. It
argues that without proper regulation and ethical frameworks, the rapid advancement
of AI could lead to severe societal disruptions.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming society, offering both
significant opportunities and serious challenges. While it holds the potential to drive
progress in fields like healthcare and scientific research, its unchecked development
threatens to displace workers, deepen inequality, and destabilize democratic
institutions.
One of the most pressing concerns is job displacement. Automation has already
replaced workers in sectors like retail, manufacturing, and transportation. More
alarmingly, AI is now capable of performing tasks once reserved for highly skilled
professionals, such as legal research, medical diagnostics, and software development.
As Brynjolfsson and McAfee (2014) note, this trend concentrates wealth among tech
elites while leaving displaced workers with limited options and growing economic
insecurity.
The possible emergence of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)—machines
that outperform humans in all cognitive tasks—raises even greater concerns.
Bostrom (2014) warns that without regulation, AGI could render entire industries
obsolete and cause massive societal disruption. Furthermore, as AI becomes more
autonomous, the risk of losing control over its decisions becomes a real and
dangerous possibility (Russell, 2019).
Ethical issues also complicate AI’s integration into society. Many AI systems
reflect biases found in their training data, leading to discrimination in hiring,
policing, and healthcare (O’Neil, 2016). Additionally, the opaque nature of many
algorithms makes it difficult to understand or challenge their decisions, undermining
public trust.
AI also poses threats to information integrity. At the 2024 World Economic
Forum, Pope Francis warned of a “crisis of truth” caused by AI-generated
misinformation and deepfakes, which distort reality and manipulate public opinion
(Francis, 2024).
Despite these concerns, AI offers undeniable benefits. In healthcare, it improves
diagnostic accuracy and enables personalized treatment plans (Esteva et al., 2017;
Topol, 2019). In scientific research, AI accelerates discoveries by processing large
datasets and enhancing experimental design (LeCun et al., 2015). These innovations,
if governed responsibly, can greatly enhance human well-being.
Beyond these domains, AI also plays a vital role in modern industry, fostering
innovation by automating repetitive tasks, optimizing logistics, and enabling smarter
decision-making in complex systems such as supply chains (Chui et al., 2016). It
contributes meaningfully to the creative arts, including music, visual art, and text
production (McCormack et al., 2019), and lies at the core of emerging technologies
such as autonomous vehicles, intelligent robotics, and adaptive software systems
(Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2017)..
Given its transformative potential, regulation is not only advisable but essential.
Without proper oversight, AI can entrench bias, infringe on privacy, displace jobs, or
be misused in surveillance and military contexts (Brynjolfsson & McAfee, 2014).
Robust regulatory frameworks are needed to mitigate such risks and ensure
development aligns with ethical principles, enabling innovation while safeguarding
societal interests (Yampolskiy, 2020).
Despite the clear need for regulation, implementing effective oversight
mechanisms is fraught with challenges. A key challenge is the speed at which AI
evolves, often outpacing legislative responses. This lag has raised concern among
experts; for instance, a former OpenAI researcher described the pace of progress as
“terrifying,” warning of unpredictable consequences in the absence of timely
governance (The Guardian, 2024). As a result, policymakers frequently find
themselves reacting to developments rather than anticipating them.
The global reach of AI adds another layer of complexity. Since these
technologies operate across borders, national regulations often lack the scope to
address international consequences. Some countries may enforce ethical safeguards,
while others prioritize innovation at the expense of fairness and safety. This
regulatory imbalance creates fragmentation, and as the BBC (2024) notes, without
international collaboration, efforts to govern AI may either hinder progress or fail to
prevent substantial harm.
On top of these challenges lies the technical complexity of AI itself. As systems
become more autonomous, especially with the anticipated development of Artificial
General Intelligence (AGI), their behavior grows less predictable. Regulators face
the daunting task of attempting to control entities whose decision-making processes
may no longer be transparent or understandable. Yampolskiy (2020) emphasizes that
as AI becomes more intelligent, its actions may surpass human comprehension,
raising profound questions about accountability and oversight.
Although advances have been made in areas like data privacy and transparency,
existing regulations often focus on narrow issues. To address long-term risks,
regulatory strategies must be anticipatory, adaptable, and capable of evolving in
tandem with AI technologies (Yampolskiy, 2020).
In conclusion, the challenges of regulating AI are substantial, but they cannot be
ignored. As AI continues to develop, there is an urgent need for coordinated and
thoughtful regulations to ensure that its potential benefits are realized without putting
society at risk.
(Word count: 835 words)
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