Blog>
5 Horror Catastrophies and 5 Futuristic Aspirations of AI for Humanity
AI in Education
10 min read

5 Horror Catastrophies and 5 Futuristic Aspirations of AI for Humanity

In this article, you will find the fact-checked data supporting the most exaggerated claims from both AI camps so that you can make up your mind.
Written by
Catherine B.
Published on
Mar 13, 2025
Table of contents
The public survey by World Economic Forum Global Risks reports 85% and 82% of respondents respectively name disinformation and social polarization as the main current social threats, both related to artificial intelligence advancements.
Indeed, imagine the horrific bombshell effect of offensive deepfake videos of top political figures, given the current global tension. What do you imagine would happen if such a video looks realistic enough and if a coordinated cyber attack happens at the same time to official resources, so that no response can be given timely? Absolute chaos, that’s what happens.
At the same time, The World Economic forum predicts the eruption of 97 million new jobs in the next decade due to technological advancement. So, is AI such a bad thing, after all?
In this article, we discuss some extreme takes on all the advantages and disadvantages of AI. Every extremist, polar (and somewhat true) claim you have heard on the topic will be analyzed and fact-checked.

Who Invented AI and Why?

But first, here is the common ground between the actual dangling threats and flickering hopes on AI programs. Where does artificial intelligence come from, was it some corporational plot against human kind?
The invention of artificial intelligence was not a one-time occasion but rather a team work. Here is the short timeline:
When
What Happened
1950s
It all started with a brilliant computer scientist Alan Turing. He developed a Turing Machine, a model that was the first prototype of a computer and was used for military intelligence during World War II.
1956
Fast forward to the Dartmouth Conference. There, John McCarthy, Marvin Minsky, Nathaniel Rochester, and Claude Shannon officially coined the term "artificial intelligence."
1986
However, it was only a few decades later that the first foundation was laid. Geoffrey Hinton and colleagues developed the backpropagation algorithm, a key advancement for training deep neural networks.
2006
Geoffrey Hinton and others brought attention to deep learning. It was a kick-start for speech recognition and computer vision. It later progressed to facial recognition technology and natural language procession.
2020
The most vital breakthrough: OpenAI releases GPT-3. Here starts the story of AI-powered tools known to the broad public.
Although there were many milestones between the mentioned points, the story shows that AI invention was not a one-man craft. It was a story of the natural transformation of war means to civil application.

5 Cases AI Has Already Messed With Us

Since the emergence of the first Large Language models in 2022, there have already been documented frightening AI-related cases, including:
  • Deepfake frauds
  • Data leaks
  • Fishing attacks
  • Poverty issues
  • Environmental hazards
The issue, though, is that the polarized narrative about the pros and cons of AI fails to address one vital point: there are short-term and long-term consequences to both sides. Long-term ones are usually vague and not evidence-based. But here are very real hazardous cases for your AI literacy:

Deepfake Terrorism Harrases Citizens and Governments

What are the cons of AI systems in a matter of deepfakes? These two are the most dangerous, although very few of us have access to the related information on the topics:
  • First, it becomes laughably easy to fake your identity. Deepface and AI generation technologies allow frauding anyone’s passport ID, voice, video, and even a whole account data. Human thinking cannot outperform artificial intelligence at identifying patterns and recognizing a threat quickly.
  • Second, deepfakes blast society’s trust and reliance. Would your relatives believe you’re kidnapped if they hear you crying on a call from an unknown number? Yes, they would. Artificial intelligence makes its leaks through manipulating complex human emotions.
💡 “The first place to start is for people to understand that they can’t figure this out on their own. It used to be that these fakes would have like six fingers. No longer the case” - Oren Etzioni, the founder of TrueMedia.org.
If you are unfamiliar with what a threat looks like, you will not recognize it even if it bites you. For instance, when you use an AI writer, you learn to notice the patterns artificial intelligence uses to improve your writing style. However, when you are not closely acquainted with AI assistance in voice and video, you will not be able to tell the fraud.
Here’s a real AI threat case: In 2021, a chief financial officer of a multinational company was fraud with voice fake to transfer $35 million, according to Forbes.

Data Leaks Give Off Your Sensitive Information

Data leaks is the second in command threat in talks about the disadvantages of AI. Here’s why:
  • Data leaks can collect your credit card or legal details. Many people carelessly assume that criminals are only after their purchase history. It is not true. The threat to your wallet is real.
  • It can become a horrific matter of national security. Quickly. It is true that for the average web user, the threat concerns mainly credit card and personal details. However, for high-ranking officials data leaks may be the matters of large corporate security or the matter of peace and war.
Real AI threat case: In 2023, Samsung employees’ usage of Chat GPT led to sensitive data leak, resulting in the company banning AI systems for the staff.

AI’s Water Use Contributes to Droughts and Floods

Does artificial intelligence directly approximate global warning and contribute to the fires in Florida? No, directly it does not. Yet, OpenAI and other companies of this kind make a great impact on water and power consumption. Here are some eye-opening statistics on a few more cons of AI:
  • According to the Washington Post, to generate one 100-word email, Chat GPT uses about one bottle of water. It means that this amount is needed to cool the servers processing the request.
  • Using these calculations, taking Chat GPT’s help for a few hours per day would generate about 50 100-word responses, which would take 25 liters per day per person.
  • This makes at the very least 9,125 liters per year.
  • Moreover, the study shows that training one common NLP model produces about 626,000 Ibs of carbon emissions. For comparison, one human produces about 11,000 Ibs of carbon emission during lifetime.
AI’s Water Use Contributes to Droughts and Floods.webp
As in January 2025 wild firestorms roared across Los Angeles, there were the ideas about its connection to extensive water use of AI. Although the concept wasn’t directly proven true, it is safe to say that AI-supporting servers do consume large quantities of electricity and water, contributing to environmental scarcity.

AI Makes Poor Even More Poorer

Is AI connected to social inequality threats? No, same as with AI programs’ environmental impact, there are no direct links between artificial intelligence and social inequality. However, there are several actual concerns:
  • Artificial intelligence makes it easier to share populistic concepts and manipulate public opinions
  • Using LLMs is beneficial for large corporations as they go on scale
  • Many average jobs are already affected by shortages
  • There are the cons of AI in education, as not everyone worldwide can stay updated on the current technology progression.
💡 In the near future, it is likely that human workers will not be replaced by AI algorithms. Instead, they will be replaced by other humans who have better access to education and technologies.
Learn more: Best tested tips from StudyPro on how to do homework faster.

You Risk Falling to a Fishing Attack While Using Google

Here is a real case of AI-produced fraud danger: at the very beginning of February, Forbes reported a story of Zach Latta, founder of Hack Club, getting a call looking like a Google support representative but was not.
Here’s why it is a real danger for you:
  • The callers used advanced realistic AI-generated voices. It is hard for the average user to tell the difference.
  • The attacks usually impose a sense of urgency, of one’s account being broken, which triggers human emotions.
  • Scammers can request and get access to your sensitive account details before you recognize the threat.
AI-driven attacks are not dangerous because of technology advancement itself but because they make it easy to exploit human trust on scale.

AI Will Save 5 Things That Humans Failed

In the discussion of pros and cons of AI, the cons surely look more intimidating. However, there are severely undervalued benefits humanity has already been receiving from artificial technologies. Here are a few:
  • Unprecedented ability to complete and automate repetitive tasks
  • Unparalleled computing and analytical capacities
  • Efficiency in delivering results for dangerous and complicated environments
  • Daily support for creative and analytical professions
  • AI capacities to contribute to medical advancement

AI Will Be More Efficient That We’ve Been So Far

Large language models are only at the start of their growth. Yet, there are already studies showing that humans increase their efficiency with using AI at 25+%, as shown in the case of software developers.
The predictions agree on AI benefits for significantly boosting humanity’s growth and in the process resolve all threats it has already caused. For example, AI’s impact is already visible in administrative tasks:
→ Analyzing big data, identify trends, make predictions;
→ Assisting in finances, healthcare, investments, business operations, logistics, manufacture spheres;
→ Finding patterns in seconds while the similar process would take years for humans;
→ Automating repetitive tasks.
So, it is true that AI grows to outperform us in particular areas. It is a bad thing, though, as it advances us as a collective?

Artificial Intelligence Can Predict Our Future. We Cannot

Why is it possible for AI to predict our future? The key LLM advancement that proves the prediction pros of AI is the context window. Here’s what that means:
  • The McKinsey report in January 2025 compared how many tokens older and newer Gemini models can process. Tokens are the bits of information AI can analyze and connect to other similar bits.
  • The comparison showed that in February 2024, Gemini 1.5. could process one million tokens. In June 2025, the number grew to two million tokens.
  • It means that in 3 months, the model doubled its capacity to recognize the context and produce better responses based on it.
💡 “The pace of innovation is faster than I would have expected. And I have a pretty high expectation.” - Bill Gates, in the podcast episode with Reid Hoffman

24/7 Worker Replaces Humans on Dangerous Missions

One way AI truly saves human resources is by replacing employees in hazardous occupations, like deep-sea explorations, waste cleanup, mining, drilling, and complex scientific research. Here are some statistics that show the rising possibilities of AI in performing dangerous tasks:
→ In 2016, China already had a scale of 87,000 sales units of industrial robots, which was far before the artificial intelligence revolution.
→ In modern days, companies like Intel already work on robotic arms and cobots responding to human speech without any external assistance.
→ One real case Intel reports is a cooperation with Audi, resulting in using robotic arms to inspect manufacturing processes.
In the matter of human involvement in danger zones, the future has already come and it never looked more optimistic.

AI Daily Saves Your Job and Reputation

How does AI benefit society daily? By serving us in thousands of different corporate tasks, such as:
  • Responding to emails in a professional tone;
  • Assisting in social media management;
  • Providing data analysis for small businesses;
  • Helping with language translation and studies;
  • Problem solving for our daily small requests like cooking recipes;
  • Complex decision making.
Whatever you use Chat GPT, Gemini, or StudyPro for, in only three years since the first LLM models, it is complicated to remember the world without them.

A Flickering Chance to Treat Cancer

AI tools are already supporting medical treatment and research for cancer patients. For example, The Association of American Medical Colleges reports successfully using AI aid for diagnosing thyroid lump that turned out not to be cancerous.
Here are the near-future applications of AI research for medical institutions:
✔️ Early detection. AI programs can analyze medical imaging like CT scans, X-rays, and MRIs to detect cancers.
✔️ Drug discovery. As patients usually need personalized drug plans, AI can assist in customizing the treatment plan.
✔️ Predictive analytics for outbreaks. AI can predict the spread of infectious diseases by analyzing trends in available patient history data.
In summary, as AI progresses, it seems like the first actual breakthrough in the mystery of cancer treatment, and an actual case where AI can save lives.

Sum Up

Regardless of one’s attitude toward new technologies, the impact of AI is evident in all spheres of life. And as any other technology, AI algorithms are tools and respond to responsible development and deployment. Critical thinking must be enough to reverse the negative consequences artificial intelligence has already caused.
Instead, there seem to be numerous benefits for humanity in the future. The main question is, which ones will be the most immediate ones that we will see in the nearest future?
Learn more: Homework planner to not fall behind in your classes

Frequently asked questions

AI will benefit us if humanity uses it wisely and applies its resources to resolving the existing threats associated with technology. In particular, AI benefits and threats make impact in the spheres of:
  • Climate change
  • Healthcare
  • Education
  • Social justice
  • Student learning
Here are the short lists of pros and cons of artificial intelligence:
Pros
  • AI tools increases human efficiency;
  • Machine learning helps to predict the future;
  • AI increases work safety in dangerous occupations;
  • AI supports our daily operations;
  • AI is highly helpful in medical advancement.
Cons
  • AI algorithms are responsible for the rise of Deepfake terrorism;
  • AI raises privacy concerns;
  • AI wastes too much water;
  • AI contributes to social inequality;
  • AI increases fraud risks.
As for now, no, we are not. Society still needs more protective measures to restrict and decrease the harmful effects of AI systems. Although we are navigating ethical considerations in the matter, the major advantage of AI technologies is still not explored enough in everyday life.
Sources:
  • The World Economic Forum. (2025). The global risks report 2025 20th edition - Publications. The World Economic Forum. https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEFGlobalRisksReport2025.pdf
  • Recession and automation changes our future of work, but there are jobs coming, report says. World Economic Forum. (2025). https://www.weforum.org/press/2020/10/recession-and-automation-changes-our-future-of-work-but-there-are-jobs-coming-report-says-52c5162fce/
  • Detecting political deepfakes with AI | The Prompt x Microsoft’s Chief Questions Officer Trevor Noah. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvA4c-cimTI
  • Gurman, M. (2023, May 2). Samsung bans chatgpt, Google Bard, other generative AI use by staff after leak - bloomberg. Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-02/samsung-bans-chatgpt-and-other-generative-ai-use-by-staff-after-leak
  • Grab, P. (2024, September). How much energy can AI use? breaking down the toll of each CHATGPT query - The Washington Post. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/09/18/energy-ai-use-electricity-water-data-centers/
Practical advice
AI in education

Stay Informed

Get the inside scoop with our latest news!