Over the past few years, AI has grown exponentially in use by the general public. ChatGPT is used by every student now; Google Gemini is the first thing that pops up when you search; and basically every social media platform is full of AI-generated images and videos. As of late 2025, generative AI was being used by 55% of people, and 37% of workers in the United States. Understandably, this development has drawn significant backlash, with many concerned about the future implications of AI’s growing presence in our world. However, AI can be a powerful tool for good, and quite frankly, it is clearly here to stay.
Many critics of AI oppose it due to environmental concerns. A particularly common claim is that AI uses up too much of our freshwater. AI actually accounts for a very small share of American water usage. In fact, its daily use in on-site data centers is dwarfed by bottled water consumption, and its total water use is small compared to that of golf courses, residential city use, and even peanut and bean farming. You would actually have to prompt Google Gemini around 1,500,000 times to consume as much water as just one hamburger. In fact, AI is helping us mitigate and solve climate change. It can help track melting icebergs, deforestation, make waste management more efficient, and even help marginalized communities impacted by climate change. However, fearmongering videos about AI using up all our water get much more engagement than looking at the facts.
AI has already begun to deliver immeasurable benefits to our society across fields such as medicine, technology, and defense. For instance, AI can reduce drug development time for pharmaceutical companies from 5 years to 18 months. The AI model Chief, developed by Harvard Medical School, has achieved a 94% accuracy in cancer detection and can predict tumor variations and patient survival. The Automated Driving System, known as Waymo, significantly outperforms the human driving population, with 88% fewer property damage claims and 92% fewer bodily injury claims. While many people fear that AI is interfering with student’s abilities to learn and think, AI algorithms can also revolutionize educational settings. Carnegie Learning developed a platform known as MATHia, which adapts content to align with individual student requirements, and can enhance math proficiency by up to 20%. Similarly, Duolingo’s usage of AI algorithms boost retention by 22% and improve learner outcomes by 17%. AI can bring about a much better future rather than the impending doom many fear.
Of course, there are many concerns that AI is coming for our jobs. Only time will tell, but rather than rejecting the software that will shape the future, it is beneficial to make yourself familiar with it and use it as a tool alongside your own human thoughts. Rather than fearing AI as an unstoppable threat, society should focus on learning how to use it wisely, ensuring that this powerful technology becomes a tool that benefits humanity rather than something we unnecessarily resist.
Acknowledgement: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual author, not necessarily Our National Conversation as a whole.
