A kind of society that appeals to young people

This time we interviewed Hana, a 3rd-grade student majoring in liberal arts. We asked her about her ideal society in the future taking into account the potential of  AI technology.

2050, AI in an ideal society

Firstly, we asked her what kind of person she wants to be in 2050. She imagined herself at 50 and said “After raising my kids, I want to enjoy spending my time as I like. Living abroad would be nice.” Hana said she has no specific dream job so it is difficult to imagine herself in 2050. However, she seemed to be positive about future technology like robots which would make life easier. 

Despite her optimistic views, when we asked her what AI she uses regularly, it seems that she does not have a strong awareness of the kinds of  AI used in everyday life. In fact, it was only when we prompted her with examples such as Siri that she realized that this kind of technology is also a type of AI. However, when we questioned her about the potential development and popularization of AI, she expressed a strong conviction that AI should not have more power than humans. It seems she worries about technology advancing too far even though she has a vision of enabling people to live much easier lives. 

Her Ideal AI robot 

The AI robot she wants to have is “a robot that does tedious tasks for her.” The most important thing for her is that it is capable of doing chores for her and thus would lighten her burden. The most important part of its appearance is cuteness. She said it would be nice if the robot makes her happy even by just being there like a pet. But she emphasized her point that AI should always be under control.

The interview led me to draw some thought-provoking conclusions. In terms of AI, I think there are wide divergences of opinion as to its potential, depending on the individual’s current and previous engagement with AI technology. Even young people have different impressions of AI. We should strive for a better society because there is no doubt that young people are looking forward to living in a better society in the future.