By: Christina Miller

Dogs are a part of many people’s lives and families. For example, I have 4 dogs, and I feel as though they have improved my mental health. But how? What are the reasons?

According to the Mayo Clinic Health System, “Owning a dog has been linked to better mental health and a lower perception of social isolation [in addition to making people] less likely to experience depression.” Dogs will always be beside you. These animals show you a bunch of love and kindness. Having someone who’s always with you can help you feel more relaxed and safe.

Dogs are able to keep you moving. You can take them on walks or runs, which can help with exercise and being healthier. Dog owners have 54% more of the daily exercise requirements. Mayo Clinic Health System says, “Dogs give you a reason to go outside, breathe in fresh air, and get some physical activity.” This can also help reduce stress because exercise helps you release stress.

If you ever feel lonely, they can even be your companion. Dogs can make you feel like you have someone with you and support you. These animals give you love and care. Dog owners say that animals give them a sense of purpose during hard times.

They can help you be more productive. The American Heart Association shows a study that says pets in the workplace help reduce stress. The reduction of stress that the feeling of being ready makes it so that you can focus.

Creating a route can help many people. Dogs can help create a routine and make it so you have something to do every day, and keep yourself organized.

Overall, dogs are very helpful to have. They can reduce negative feelings.

By: Christina Miller

Many of us use AI in our daily lives without even noticing. Whenever you use your GPS, you are using AI to show you directions. Using that type of AI can be helpful and isn’t the worst thing about AI. But AI can result in harmful things.  

People are using generative AI in harmful and potentially dangerous ways. You can make many images and texts that seem very real. It can cause bad situations. 

AI can make images. Others can use it to make deep fake videos of real people. For example, what if someone sends you a message saying that they will leak a video of you that isn’t even real but looks very believable? It can cause scenarios like this to happen, which isn’t safe for people online.

Many predators online can also use this feature to make inappropriate deepfakes of minors and adults. It can destroy privacy and could lead to consequences. This can make others feel sad and violated. 

There is a thing called AI “art” which isn’t really art. All you have to do is ask the AI to generate an image that looks presentable. AI has been causing artists to run short on money because people are starting to use AI, as on some sites, it’s free to make an image. Real art has emotion that an AI can not replace. I recommend people commission artists instead of having AI make it for you. 

On the topic of artists losing their jobs, you could lose yours, too. Many fast food restaurants are using AI to take your orders. This can take many jobs. Some people may not be able to get jobs because of AI replacing employees. For instance, what if you worked as a cashier and were getting paid enough to make ends meet until an AI came in and took your job away? AI taking jobs could have negative effects on the economy. 

Generating content with AI can also lead to plagiarism. AI takes from the internet, like the way someone writes. So you could be copying someone without even knowing it by using generative AI.

When you use AI to generate text, it can also lead to misinformation. As said earlier, it takes from all around the internet, and even things that might be rumors and not confirmed. AI can spread this misinformation, making others think it’s real. 

Using AI doesn’t really allow us to think. All you have to do is put in a prompt and generate it with no brain power. Many in the younger generation have become less intelligent because of this. It takes away our creativity and thoughts. AI doesn’t have the raw emotion we humans have. 

Generating prompts for AI uses up water. This causes more pollution than we already have (which is a lot). Houses by AI servers are losing clean water due to the terrible pollution. Each time you enter a prompt, it wastes about one bottle. Per day, AI uses gallons of water. The water is used for cooling the AI systems.

Overall, we shouldn’t be using AI anymore to protect ourselves and the environment around us. Without AI, we can have more creativity and rely less on technology. AI will destroy humanity if we don’t get rid of it from our lives soon.