In the age of AI, what it means to be Human?

Recently while reading news I came across a news in the newspaper which left me disturbed and provoked me to think about this strange relationship between technology and humans.

The case being from Ghaziabad where 3 sisters aged 12,14 and 16 respectively committed suicide. As startling as it may sound, the reason for this suicide was far more disturbing. Apparently they committed the act because their father took away their phones and prohibited them from watching k- drama and playing online korean games. According to the father, they were addicted to their mobile screens and lived in 'Parallel Korean online universe’. Moreover the sisters wrote a suicide note stating- 'Korean is our life, how did you even dare to make us leave our life?’

It raises questions not only about the superficious life we are entering into but also about the value and purpose that is left into living as a human in this era.

Research in psychology proves that AI has an impact on not just the external and materialistic space we live in but it also affects human cognition, emotions and behaviour. This includes online digital platforms, social media, AI and the LLMs..

We are in an era where illusion is becoming a reality and reality has become an illusion.

Firstly, the modern developments like the Chatbots have increased our psychological dependency and further pushed us to get attached to these tools. Right when you are assigned a new project, designated to make a presentation or work on research, we are no more concerned or bothered about the deadlines, accuracy or cognition. We simply have moved from the era where we ‘Googled' it to the age when we 'ChatGPT' it!

But behind the scenes have you ever thought of the ways in which it has affected our cognitive abilities? Has it stagnated or caged our thoughts? Besides, it has also curtailed the curiosity and creativity of the human brain. 

Biologically speaking, it has affected the dopamine levels with its quick, detailed and perfect outputs.

Also, the social pressure or the FOMO(fear of missing out) that is accompanied has left us with very few options but to use it under the slang of ‘smart work over hardwork' but the thing to understand here is that this is a choice of 'fast work over your cognitive abilities!’

This FOMO then leads one to end up attaching and getting addicted to it. In the digital era we have often heard of people entering loneliness. The Chatbots came with a hidden utility to curtail this feeling of loneliness with people chatting with these AI models to fill the vacuum in their lives. A Software like ChatGPT can be your friend, a family member or your partner. With people in countries like Japan marrying Robots, it raises questions beyond ethics.

Moreover, the concerns of vulnerability remain prevalent with youth being the worst affected group; factors like loneliness further pushes them to create a parallel universe on social media. This further pushes them into isolation, disintegration and into a superficial world full of illusions. When this castle of illusions collapse the inability to navigate the way out leads to events like in Ghaziabad.

Further the high competition for education and jobs affect the mental health of youth, who might look upto these digital platforms as a means to escape reality. And the fact that AI can end up replacing them from jobs remains yet another debate.

As distant as it may sound, we are very rapidly progressing towards the world which once seemed a distant fantasy.

Another example that made headlines with a phenomenon named ‘Cyberchondria’ where a mom relied on the web search and googling symptoms which she believed to be that of cancer. She in turn ended up murdering two of her children worrying about their future after her.

Beyond individual psychology, these AI tools & digital platforms are impacting our social behaviour and our dynamics within the social institutions like family, marriage. and kinship.

The challenges extend beyond this which in turn impact individuals as social entities.

The concerns of originality and IPR remain legal challenges.

Also, in the data based economy individual privacy remains on the blade of knife. A hacked social media account can end up devastating an individual's life, so is the current state. 

The economical implications though may sound goodie-goodie, Al may end up threatening the professions like Doctors (as in case of cyberchondria), lawyers and Consultants.

Para social relations replacing social bonds and, populist politics and cultural manipulation as in case of Korean culture, Korean beauty standards and parallel online lives are impacting every aspect of human life.

At a personal level the dilemma remains between handing over weapons to the situation owing to FOMO or to throw it out of the window and restore patience. I  consciously chose to curtail the temptations to use AI to writing this article, or to refine it or to structure it better.

Because in spite of the fact that it can't be perfect, I can claim it to be mine!

(Yet another concern being people no more trust content to be genuine and original!!)

Humans are not meant to be perfect but they are meant to be humans.

I won't jump to conclusions or to determine a way forward since it remains to be seen how and what it turns out to be. But it remains an individual's choice where to draw the line…