The Role of AI & Human Development (DP IB Psychology): Revision Note

Here is an example of a Paper 3 source and a 6-mark SAQ using technology (HL extension) in the Human Development context:

Source 2

Research has found that HDI (human development index, measured as health, knowledge, and a decent standard of living) is likely to plummet for young people (those aged 18-30) compared to older people (those aged 50+). One of the findings of this research is that this disparity in quality of life is due to the increasing prevalence of AI in people's lives.

Q2: Analyse the findings from source 2 and state a conclusion based on these findings.

[6 marks]

Model answer:

One of the reasons for the above finding could be that younger people are more likely to feel that they have fewer opportunities for a career due to the use of AI across many professions and industries, whereas older people are likely to be established in careers or retired. Young people are also more likely to use and rely on AI across a range of tasks (e.g., writing a resume, research, completing an essay), which may result in them feeling de-skilled and demotivated. This could be because there is no real engagement or challenge in a task that has been completed by a machine rather than by one's own efforts.

There may be an ever-widening gap between the expectations and perceptions of self-efficacy and control between young and old people (i.e., Boomers versus Zoomers) due to the onwards pace of AI. What is interesting is that technology – which has been a positive factor in the lives of young people over the past 30 years – may be turning into a source of stress and anxiety for them.

Guidance

• Your analysis should refer to the raw scores (if these are included) and/or the descriptive/inferential statistics presented in the findings

  • For descriptive stats this may comprise the mean/median/mode as measures of central tendency and the range/standard deviation as measures of dispersion

  • For inferential stats this may comprise a statement of significance and/or link to the level of probability used

• You should always state which condition of the IV performed better

• You should comment on what the stats seem to suggest about performance per condition

• If relevant, you should comment on what the data tells you about the population, e.g., is this a normal distribution or is it skewed?

• If the research is qualitative then you should focus on how the findings have been categorised/presented and whether there are drawbacks or limitations to how it has been gathered (e.g., sample size, potential bias)

• You should draw a conclusion based on what the data in the source/study tells you about what is being investigated

  • E.g., do the findings suggest that X does affect Y?