Remember when you’d sit around with friends pondering questions about life or contemplating some scientific curiosity? How long has it been since an abstract question was just kicked around, stimulating boisterous conversation and spirited debate amongst family or friends? It has become all too easy to reach for the phone and throw the inquiry into some AI search platform. In fact, we are no longer just leaning into this technology to answer questions, but also to write emails, papers, even books. Exploring abstract concepts and synthesizing oceans of esoteric thought is now possible with these systems. As an admitted slow adopter of new technology, even I am using AI tools to help solve clinical puzzles and expedite progress notes for medical records. The real time benefits are obvious, but there is a shadowy underbelly that raises real questions about bigger impacts on the human experience, and the potential for harm on our overall vitality and well-being.
So concerning has the unfolding of AI in our society become, that big names like Elon Musk, Prince Harry and Apple’s co-founder Steve Wozniak among thousands of other thought leaders have signed an open-letter calling for a pause on AI development. They worry that without deeper understanding of societal implications and without more robust regulation, these systems could get out of control, causing more harm than good.
Issues influenced on social and economic systems by AI are too vast for this discussion, but the more interpersonal and downstream mental and emotional implications are really interesting. As mentioned, the experience of contemplation and reflection with others is sadly less common than it once was. If the most valuable part of our experience is simply information and details, one might argue — who really cares? If we can generate pages of facts and figures in seconds, why bother with the interpersonal exploration? It could be argued that the depth of human experience is so much more than the answer to a problem or a question. One could argue that the very process of engaging with others is as enriching, if not more so, than simply arriving at an answer. Engaging with others in the way we have for thousands of years taps us into aspects of ourselves that go far beyond the much-revered search for knowledge.
We are hard-wired to be social and emotional creatures, and perhaps in our endless quest for greater efficiency and instant access to data, we’ve begun to undervalue just how important these aspects are. Even before the dawn of AI, we have come to understand that the isolation caused by “screen-time” and the toxic environments inherent in social media, have created an all-time high in depression and anxiety.
Social media and now AI tools have made it that much easier to continue to look “out there” for answers, searching in seconds amongst the trillions of available data points. Arguably this dynamic has only further obscured our ability (or motivation) to look “in here” to deepen our self-awareness, and cultivate our own emotional intelligence, and to explore and contemplate life’s complexities with others close to us.
Herein lies the medicine, in this humble author’s opinion. While one cannot argue the value and excitement that exists in our growing ability to be so efficient with information, it does not seem to be creating a society that is happier, more self-contented or in good relations with another. Perhaps the remedy for such high levels of anxiety, depression and loneliness is to just slow down a bit. Perhaps we have overvalued mankind’s endless pursuit of knowledge and efficiency at the expense of connection with ourselves and one another.
So here I issue a challenge to myself and to you, dear reader. Catch yourself when the overwhelm and anxiety begins to rise. Remember the medicine in nature, and grounding that occurs when time is spent quietly there, reveling in its mystery and beauty. Make time to be there with yourself and listen. Look within and be curious. Resist the temptation to reach for the phone when a puzzling question comes up. Take the time to be unsure and revel in the uncertainty. Allow new ideas to arise on their own. Be human with one another. This may just be the intelligence we are actually seeking.
Joshua Phillips, ND is a naturopathic physician and the director at Hawthorn Healing Arts Center in Bend. He can be reached at docnaturecure@gmail.comwith questions or comment.
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