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Artificial Intelligence
Is AI Hijacking Humanity?
Artificial intelligence is here to stay. We need new ways to manage its impact.
Posted April 13, 2023 Reviewed by Michelle Quirk
Key points
- Our average screen time continues to increase, leading to mental health challenges for certain age groups.
- Technology can enhance the human experience when used properly.
- As AI becomes more human-like, we need to become more humane.
Artificial intelligence (AI) has infiltrated many aspects of our existence. From automated voice messaging to GPS to voice-activated devices that switch on our TVs, our AI-driven lifestyle has changed the way we live our lives.
In the quest for shortcuts, we have certainly freed up space in our calendars. Yet, oftentimes, that space is filled with activities that challenge our mental health. The average daily screen time per individual in the United States is about seven hours a day with two hours and 14 minutes of that time spent on social media alone. And the tendency is rising. While social media itself may not be the problem, our lack of consistent soul-enriching activities such as a walk through nature, communing with friends in person, or volunteering for a cause without a digital accompaniment is taking its toll. Studies have shown that rates of depression and anxiety in adolescents are increasing in parallel to their increased social media use.
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is the fact that human connection is essential. Our hyper-connected, device-driven world, however, has offered a dark side of our algorithm-led social media usage that actually sets us apart from one another, creating so-called “filter bubbles” that reinforce our beliefs by exposing us to like-minded groups. The variety of life has narrowed as a result, thereby entrenching our reality into an us-versus-them narrative.
Two Sides of Artificial Intelligence
Psychologist Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, author of I, Human: AI, Automation and the Quest to Reclaim What Makes Us Unique, takes a balanced view of AI and its potential. On the one side, platforms such as social media have, in his words, democratized digital narcissism. AI has enhanced our laziness as we conveniently rely on its output. In addition, we have access to more information than ever before at lightning-bolt speed, which shapes our perspectives immensely.
On the other side, AI has enormous potential to heighten efficiency and accuracy. It can help leaders make decisions more quickly and confidently. The key lies in which data the tool is being fed. And therein lies the conundrum. The truth is that such tools rely on human input, which in turn reveals our natural biases. To be human, Chamorro-Premuzic says, is to be biased. We all have a lens through which we see the world. The impact of that lens gets amplified by the tools we use. In a recent Zoom interview, he commented,
We are in the presence of abundant data. Gains in efficiency, speed, or cost reduction don’t automatically transfer to creatively rewarding or spiritually enriching experiences. Between 2000 and 2008 productivity skyrocketed during the early wave of the digital revolution. Then with the mass adoption of social media platforms, which I call weapons of mass distraction, we have ended up wasting a lot of time in our lives. If we compare it to the fast food industry, we see that while it is more convenient to consume high caloric foods in less time, it isn’t necessarily the healthier option. The question is, for example, whether ChatGPT is the fast-food version of efficiency. It remains to be seen.
While AI has made life more efficient and, by the natural course of things, faster, it doesn’t necessarily mean life has become better. Chamorro-Premuzic sees an upside to it, however:
If we were to really leverage the power of AI, we could make Tim Ferriss’ dream of the four-hour work week come true.
Imagine a world in which more efficiency means more time for meaningful activities that empower humanity.
Emotion-Scanning Technology
At this point in our development as a species, technology will continue to challenge and evolve our lives. There are positive examples in which it can help us remain in touch with that very human part of ourselves. MercurySays.com, for instance, is a tool that scans the written word for underlying emotional messages. In other words, you place a text in the box and the tool offers you feedback on how the receiver will understand what you have said.
It was developed by Francis Walsh, a senior communication consultant for the Australian Federal Parliament and 300 other government and private-sector organizations who, while observing extensive information flows within these institutions, discovered that the structure and purpose of messages were inseparable. Based on that notion, he began studying the grammatical function of words, phrases, and clauses and found the intertwining of structure and purpose operated at those levels, as well.
It is a radically different approach to understanding how people communicate when compared with AI. Relying on the psychological notion that thoughts produce words and actions, Walsh and his team saw that thoughts can actually be measured, to some extent, by defining the structure (and therefore the intent) of the messages created from them.
Whether you love AI or hate it, the technology is advancing at a breakneck speed. Cautious awareness while embracing its potential is essential.
“As AI becomes more human-like,” Chamorro-Premuzic said, “we need to become more humane.”
Technology will never replace the human experience, but it can, when used properly, enhance it.
