A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Age Of Ai

M cE lw ain1ARhetoricalAnalysisOfTheAgeofAIKadinMcElwainKentStateUniversityResearchW ritingMrs.GageSeptember18th,2023M cE lw ain2ARhetoricalAnalysisOfTheAgeofAIW earelivinginatimerightnowwhereartificialintelligenceisbecomingmoreapartofourlives.Artificialintelligencehasmademanypeople sliveseasier .Butithasalsocausedsomecontroversy ,duetotheethicsofusingAIandtheconcernofpossiblejoblossesasaresultofAI.Inthe2019documentary ,TheAgeofAIbyFrontlinePBS,weobservedtheevolutionofartificialintelligencefromtwodif ferentcountries,ChinaandTheUS,andhowAIwillevolvetobecomemoreapartofoursocietyinthenext15years.Thisdocumentaryinterviewsseveraldif ferentA.I.experts,mostnotablyKai-FuLee,tohelptheviewerbetterunderstandhowmuchofanimpactAIwillhaveonsocietyinthenext15years.FrontlinePBSusesmultipleelementsoffilmandar gumentstrategiestogettheirpointacrossinthedocumentaryabouthowAIwilltakeovertheworldinthenext15yearsorso.Thisincludespathos,oremotionalappeal;logos,orfactsandstatistics;andethos,ortherespecttoauthority .Mostnotably ,theyusepathosthroughoutthedocumentarythemost,inparticularintheintroduction.Buttheydohavesomefallaciesthatcausetheirar gumenttobeinvalid,particularlyinthefearfactorelement.Overall,thisdocumentarymakesanef forttousemultiplepiecesofevidence,expertsinthetechnologyfieldandcommonclasscitizens,andtheelementsofpathos,logos,andethostosupporttheirar gumentofAItakingoversocietyinthenext15years.M cE lw ain3PathosInAgeofAI,pathos,ortryingtoinstillanemotioninpeople,isusedfrequently ,especiallyinthefirst15minutesofthedocumentary .Infact,inthe0:17-1:14markalone,wecanseethattheemotiontryingtobeinstilledintotheaudienceisfear ,asweseevariousnewsstoriespopuponthescreen,loudboomingmusic,andnewsanchorsspeakingaboutthephenomenonofAI(DocheryandFanning,2019).Inthe0:52-0:57mark,weareinstilledwithfearwhenwehearoneoftheexpertssayW ethoughtthatwewerewatchingGoogle.T urnsout,Googlewaswatchingus(DocheryandFanning,2019).ThisquotealonesoundslikesomethingyouwouldhearinasuspensefilmoraPSAaboutdataprivacy ,bothofwhichnaturallyprovokefearintopeople,whichistheultimategoalofthedocumentary .W ealsoseesomeforeshadowinginthe2:13-2:15markofthedocumentary ,wherethenarratorstatesThegameofGowouldmarkthestartofanewindustrialera,foreshadowingtheAIvsLeeSodolGomatch(DocheryandFanning,2019).Then,wemoveontomoreforeshadowing.Inthe12:33-12:46mark,weseeCaoXudongforeshadowtheuseofautonomousvehiclesbysaying,Idon thaveanydoubtthatautonomousvehicleswillsurpassthehumandriverintheend(DocheryandFanning,2019).Thisinducesfearintopeople,asmanycangetoverwhelmedwithchangeeasily ,especiallywithtechnology .Themostfear -arousingpointofthedocumentarycomesfromthe15:27-15:35mark,wherethenarratorstatesThisAIcanimproveyouforloansinaslittleaseightseconds(DocheryandFanning,2019).Thatideabeingputinthemindoftheviewercanbeoverwhelming,especiallywhenwealreadyfearloansasitis.ThisdocumentaryusesalloftheelementsofpathostogettheaudienceevokedwithfeartogettheirpointofAItakingoverinthenext15yearsacross,sopeoplecanprepareformarketLeninismandauthoritariancapitalismasstatedinthe20:37-20:42mark,whichrepresentsawayofsayingM cE lw ain4thattherewillbeaninevitabledivisionofdemocracyduetoartificialintelligencetakingovereventually(DocheryandFanning,2019).EthosEthos,ortherespecttoauthority ,isanotherelementthatisusedfrequentlyinTheAgeofAI,inordertogetacrossthepointthatAIwilltakeoversocietyinthenext15years.Throughoutthedocumentary ,weseemultipleexpertsinthefieldsofAIandtechnology ,alongsidemultiplecollegeprofessorsandcommon-classcitizens,beinginterviewedontheirpositionaboutthisar gument.OneofthemostnotabletechexpertswhoisinterviewedforthedocumentaryisKai-FuLee,whostatedduringthe9:40-9:53markabouttheprogressofAIinChina:TheAIimplementationinChinawentfromminimalamounttoaboutsixtoeightunicorns(billiondollarcompanies)inAI(DocheryandFanning,2019).Comingfromsomeonewithover35yearsoftechnologyexperience,includingGoogleandApple,mostnotablyinventingthefirstAlexa-typecommanddocumentpasterforthelatter ,wecanlearntoestablishtrustinthefactthatmoreandmoremulti-billiondollarcompaniesspecializinginAIarepoppingupeveryyear .AnotherrisingstarinthetechnologyindustrythatwehearfromisMomentaCEOCaoXudong,whostatesinthe13:32-13:33markthatwearelivinginanewera(DocheryandFanning,2019).BothXudongandLeeareexpertsinthefieldsofAI,althoughthelatterhasmoreexperiencethantheformer ,andmakegreatpointsaboutthenewerathatwearelivinginandhowAIistakingover .W ealsoseeAIbeingtalkedaboutbycommonclasscitizens,whoareexpertsaswellinaway ,particularlytruckdrivers.Inthe40:06-40:08mark,weseethewifeofatruckdrivertalkabouthowherhusbandlaughedsohardattheideaofAItakingoverthetruckingindustry(DocheryandFanning,2019).W eseeasenseoffearintheexpert,assheisexpressinghopethatM cE lw ain5herhusband sindustrywon tbetakenoverbyAI.Butifwelookinhereyes,weseethatsheisafraidthatAIwilltakeover .Thishelpsusconnecttheethoselementwiththepathoselement,aseventheexpertsareinfearofAItakingover .InTheAgeofAIdoesagreatjobofusingexpertsandtheelementofethostogettheirpointacrossandtheydoanunintentionallygoodjobatconnectingpathoswithethos.LogosLogos,ortheuseoffactsandstatistics,isanotherelementthatisusedinTheAgeofAIinordertohelpFrontlinePBSsupporttheirar gumentofAItakingoversocietyinthenext15years.Forexample,inthe9:37-9:49mark,Kai-FuLeetalksabouthowinthepasttwoandahalfyears,ChinawentfromminimalimplementationofAItoaround17or18unicorns,billiondollarcompanies,inA.I.today(DocheryandFanning,2019).ThisfactshowstheprogressionofAIinjustonecountryalone,yetaloneoneofthemostpowerfulandtechnologicallyadvancedcountriesintheworld.Anotherfactinthedocumentarycomesfromthe10:19-10:27mark,whereKai-FuLeeisshowingtheviewerachartrepresentingabouteightdif ferentunicornsfocusedonAI(DocheryandFanning,2019).ThissupportstheclaimasmoreandmorecompaniesarestartingtospecializeinAI.Anotheruseoflogoscomesinthe46:10-46:13mark,whereKai-FuLeesaysthathiscompanymadearound40investmentsinAI(DocheryandFanning,2019).Thisshowsthatifacompanyiswillingtoinvest40timesinanything,yetaloneAI,it sgoingtotakeover .Anotheruseofthelogoselementcomesinthe52:24-52:27mark,wherethenarratortalksabouthowtheaverageincomeinSaginaw ,Michigan,atownthatwasleftbehindintheAImovement,isM cE lw ain6$16,00ayear(DocheryandFanning,2019).Thisshowsthattimeswerebadenoughforasmalltownbyhavingasmallincome,andwerejustmadeworsewiththeimplementationofAI.Thisdocumentarylinkslogosbacktothepathossectiononceagain,astheyusefearfulfactstogettheirpointacross.FallaciesAlthoughFrontlinePBSdoesagreatjobofgettingtheirar gumentofAItakingoverinthenext15yearsacrossbyusingethos,pathos,andlogos,theydohaveonefallacyintheirar gumentthataf fectsthewholear gumentalltogether .Thisfallacywouldbethefearfactorelement,orpurposefullytryingtoinstillfearintheviewerinordertogettheirpointacross.Mostnotably ,intheintroductionofthedocumentaryalone,weseenaturalfear -inducingelementsoffilmbeingincorporated,suchasloudboomingmusic,archivefootageofnewsstoriesaboutAI,andvariousexpertssayingfearfulcomments(DocheryandFanning,2019).Anotherpointoftheuseofthefearfactorelementinthisdocumentarycomesinthe1:16:48-1:16:52mark,whereRogerMcManeestates,W egavetechnologyaplacethatithasn tearned(DocheryandFanning,2019).Thisshowcasesanotheroveruseofthefearfactorelementinthisdocumentary ,asMcManeeisforeshadowingthehumanracebeingtheinevitablecauseoftheAIapocalypse,inasense,aswedecidedtoincorporateitintoourlives.MoreusesoftheFearFactorelementcomeinthe1:19:43-1:19:50mark,whereMcManeetalksabouthowAlexaandothersmartspeakersareaseriesofcorporatesurveillancesystemsthatwerebuiltwithoutourconsent(DocheryandFanning,2019).PeoplenaturallyfearbeingspiedonandtherehavebeencontroversiessurroundingtheAlexaandGoogleHomeinrelationtothis.ButstraightupsayingthatthesewerebuiltwithoutconsentdoesnothingbutM cE lw ain7maketheviewerevenmoreafraid.WhileDocheryandFanningdoagreatjobatexpressingtheirar gumentsef ficiently ,thisfallacysoilsit.Iftherewaslessofthefearfactorelement,itwouldvebeenmorebalanced.ConclusionTheFrontlinePBSdocumentary ,TheAgeofAI,makesanar gumentthatinthenext15yearsorso,artificialintelligencewilltakeoversociety .Inordertogettheirpointsacross,thedirectors,DocheryandFanning,useelementsofpathos,logos,andethos,withpathosbeingthemostnotablyusedelement.Althoughtheydogettheirpointacrossef ficientlythroughoutthedocumentary ,theydohaveafallacythatruinsitabit.Thiswouldbetheelementoffearfactor ,whichisusedtoomuchinthedocumentary .Iftheyusedmorelogosandethosandlesspathos,thenthisdocumentarywouldvebeenevenmoreef ficientingettingthisar gumentacrossthanitisnow .Butstill,thisdocumentaryisamust-watchifyoureintoartificialintelligenceandtechnology .Thisalllinkstogether ,aswecanlinkeachelementusedbacktopathos,sincetheyareallstatedwithfear .Unfortunately ,itlookslikeDocheryandFanning spredictionsarebeingprovenright,asweareseeingmoreandmoreAIbecomingapartofoursociety .ChatGTPismakingiteasierforbadstudentstocheatandcommitplagiarismbywritingtheiressaysforthem,actorsareonstrikebecausetheyreafraidoftheirvoicesandlikenessbeingreplicatedbyAIwithouttheirconsent,wehaveautomateddrivethruordertakerswithnopersonality ,and,worseofall,themetaverse,whichhaselementsofAI,ismessingwithpeople sheadsbymakingthemthinkthattheyliveinanalternateworld.Butwearetryingtolearntolivewithit.W ejusthavetoacceptthatAIwillM cE lw ain8beapartofthefutureoftheworld,andwillcontinuetogetmoreandmoreadvancedastimegoesby .Sohopefully ,wecanprepareourselvesforthelonghaul,andtrytothinkpositiveaboutthissituation.M cE lw ain9Refer encesDochery ,N&Fanning,D.(W riter&Director).(2019,November5th).Fr ontline:InTheAgeofAI.(Season38,Episode6)[TVSeriesEpisode}.InR.Aronson-Raith.(ExecutiveProducer),Fr ontline.PBS.