As a sociology major, I am asked to analyze why people interact the way they do and form structures within a given society. My classes are driven by human ideas and discussion, both of which cannot be replicated by artificial intelligence. However, our ability to have these discussions means something deeper than just non-generated interaction – I am of the belief that language is a fundamental pillar in a functioning human society. 

The way I see it, our understanding of the world is the result of language. Math is a language, science is a language. Sure, their principles existed before human discovery, but it was our language that gave these phenomena meaning. 

Our understanding of psychological, philosophical and sociological concepts would not exist without those who put these theories into words. How will we ever continue to discover and innovate if we lose the capability to articulate our own findings?

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about George Orwell’s “1984.” This dystopian novel argues language’s place in revolution and dives into the idea that, without the ability to put our thoughts to words, humans will be unable to join forces against unwanted regimes.

While our world hasn’t quite made it to the extremes of “1984”, new parallels to this novel continue to arise. Flock cameras are adding to fear of mass surveillance, media censorship is becoming a trend and I believe that the rise of AI is contributing to the erasure of language.

I would argue that the increased reliance on AI in everyday life serves as a form of self censorship. If we continually depend on artificial intelligence to write, speak or even think for us, we will slowly lose the ability to do the same for ourselves. If unable to articulate our own thoughts and ideas, how will we ever be able to revolt and evolve?

 In order to make change within any given society, we must understand what is driving the conflict. This is the job of sociologists – to understand the intricacies of our social structures. However, this cannot be done if we continually rely on AI to understand for us. 

AI cannot come up with its own social theories. However, I worry maintained reliance on it will diminish our abilities to understand new sociological concepts, come up with our own theories, and apply these findings to drive social change.