Artificial intelligence is increasingly coming up in conversation in the modern age, from image to text generation, and even video generation. It is becoming much more prevalent across all industries. Is this a good thing? How exactly is it changing industries? Below, we review the status of artificial intelligence in 2026.
Improved user experience
Artificial intelligence isn’t all about generation; there is much more to it than that. It can greatly improve the user experience across many different platforms. If users are searching for the latest bonus offers at online casinos, the process can become much easier with AI-assisted searches. Alternatively, if you are just trying to find a simple answer to a problem you have, AI can help you find a clear answer quickly. The new integration of AI-based searches can really help give you the straight answer you were looking for.
Is the environmental impact really that bad?
You have likely heard some talk about how damaging continued use of artificial intelligence is for the environment. For those who haven’t done research, this can seem like quite a stretch. Is it as bad as some people are saying? Or is it being blown way out of proportion?
Unfortunately, most of the time it is not being blown out of proportion, as artificial intelligence is having a rather damaging effect on the environment. This is almost entirely due to two factors. The first of these factors involves their training. In order to train AI models to the degree they are, huge data centers are required. These data centers use a lot of energy, which is not good for the environment.
The second factor relates to the energy use of AI, which costs an unholy amount of money to keep running. The machines running AI are going to get very hot, so to cool them down, water is pumped through them. The issue with this is that when the water is used, it cannot be drunk. These data centers are using an unspeakable amount of water for cooling, and afterwards, it needs to be dumped.
Is generative AI theft?
Another controversy that you might be aware of that relates to AI is the fact that some people think generative AI is inherently morally wrong, and that it steals from artists who have not given their permission to have a machine learn from their work. Is this as big an issue as some people make it out to be? Is AI really stealing work?
It depends on how you view it yourself. Some people will claim that human artists regularly take inspiration from other art when creating, and that generative AI is in a morally similar place. Others believe that inspiration is a far cry from directly taking somebody’s work. This notion comes from the fact that generative AI isn’t really ‘creating’ anything. The images or words it’s coming up with are effectively just mashing already existing art into something new.
Whether you think it’s stealing or not is entirely down to opinion. If a human were to do what generative AI was doing to create an image, it would be stealing, and therefore a crime. However, the rules are somewhat different for artificial intelligence.
What are the implications of big companies using AI?
Another thing people talk a lot about when discussing how AI might reshape entertainment industries across the globe are the moral and economic implications of its being integrated so heavily. This is a rather difficult topic, as there is no clear right or wrong.
On one hand, generative AI can be quite useful for smaller studios, especially when it comes to game development. The studio may not have the time or resources to create all the assets or textures for a game. Generative AI can lighten this load by quite a bit and make games that would have perhaps failed in the past, able to be successful and finished on time.
On the other hand, the negative implications are much more abundant and obvious when it comes to larger studios implementing AI. This involves companies that have the time and resources to produce games in the traditional fashion but choose to use AI to cut costs. The implication here is that creatives are losing their jobs to a machine that can work faster than them. This also brings up the issue of money as big companies don’t have to pay for these machines, so they are hoarding more of the wealth that the industry produces.
Conclusion
You might think the future is doomed to be cursed by our innate need to push new technology, even if the effects are negative, but the future of AI isn’t all doom and gloom. While there are issues that certainly need to be addressed sooner rather than later, we are still in the very early stages of this technology. It is exciting, and because it’s so new, regulations are loose — it’s akin to the Wild West. As we progress into the future, there are likely to be more regulations and rules regarding how AI can and should be used. It is not something to be afraid of; the possibilities are exciting, we just need to iron out the kinks.
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