New communications technology always changes people. The printing press, radio, film, television, cable, satellite, the internet, smart phones, social media, and now artificial intelligence all have had massive personal, social, and cultural impacts.
But each technological advance brings with it great opportunities and advantages, too, especially for people who live in modern societies.
Communication processes incessantly drive organic, cultural, and technological evolution. So one key question becomes: Over time, could any of these technologies not have been invented?
My academic home, San Jose State University, is located in the heart of California’s Silicon Valley. A massive mural on campus proudly announces, “What Powers Us Changes Our World.” That’s certainly true. But what exactly are those changes? And what should we be doing about it?
A Communication-based Response
In last week’s post I described the basic features of a social communication-based strategy you can use to deal effectively with the rapidly-accelerating presence of AI in everyday life. I suggested that you first reflect honestly on the likely impact of AI on all aspects of your life. Then work to develop your core integrity and refine your in-person social communication skills.
AI developers are tying to make machines as “human like” as technically possible. Our challenge will always be to be as “human” as humanly possible. Personal success in the future will depend not only on technological literacy, but on how people perceive you in real unmediated time. So who are you becoming?
Your “Self”
The linguistic root of AI technologies ranging from autocorrect spelling to autonomous vehicles is the Greek word autos or “self” in English. Where does your “self” reside in an AI-driven world today? And where is it going?
Recognizing What We’re Losing
Advances in AI technology come about because smart designers know how to spoil us with powerful conveniences and comforts. It’s enormously profitable for them to do so. And it’s easy for us to go with the flow of what AI technology offers. But for every advantage that AI affords us, we simultaneously lose something too—perhaps even part of our “selves.”
Understanding the nature of the inevitable AI trade-off helps us make decisions about what we stand to gain and what we’re willing to give up when we encounter new technological options.
Autocorrect Spelling
Early versions of autocorrect spelling is a good example of the trade-off. Like nearly all technological developments, the advantages afforded by AI-driven autocorrect spelling quickly became obvious to everyone.
Even for someone who learned how to spell words correctly in school, autocorrect has been helpful. It was a convenient fix for the occasionally misspelled word. But as time wore on, we came to depend more and more on letting autocorrect spell words for us. Now we can just type something that resembles the word we have in mind. Don’t worry about the spelling, autocorrect will fix it for you.
What’s the downside of such a seemingly harmless little helper? One key indicator lies in the word “correct.” Originally the system told you: “No. That’s not correct.” You had made a mistake that had to be corrected.
No one except you knew you made an error. You were not held responsible for not knowing how to spell even a common word. It was not necessary to know how to spell. In fact, you were rewarded for sloppy attempts to spell because autocorrect quickly figured out what word you wanted and supplied it for you in exactly the right place, correctly spelled.
We don’t know what price that lack of accountability has in shaping our thinking and behaving generally going forward but it must be recognized.
The prefix in autocorrect is even more important. Autocorrect means to “self correct.” But you, the living, breathing human being weren’t the “self” that made the correction. The machine spelled the word correctly for you.
The machine became your “self.”
Knowing how to spell words correctly as part of the experience of language acquisition is no longer necessary. Anyone born after 1993 has lived in an autocorrect world their entire life. They never really had to learn how to spell.
And the machines they’ve used have instantly forgiven them for any mistakes they make. Again, no accountability.
Grammar Checker
Grammar checker raised the stakes on both the plus and minus side of language use. Good grammar isn’t just a technically correct way to express thoughts. When a grammar checker program fixes an attempt at phrasing, it relieves writers of the responsibility of thinking through various ways they might want to phrase a complex thought in a precise, persuasive, or nicely stylized way.
Grammar checker gives you a machine solution comprised of aggregated distilled data. Your phrasing, no matter how many rewrites it takes, is a human solution. Your solution.
Writing Assistance
Of course, AI Writer Assistance programs like ChatGPT offer writing services that completely rob the user of authorship. We will look closely at writer assistance programs in future posts.
Writing should represent an advanced stage of personal reflection about something you want to express. Experimenting with words and various approaches to phrasing ideas—not just relying on standard machine solutions—is important cognitive work.
To function well and grow, the brain needs exercise that comes with reflection, experimentation, failure, and persistence. Writing is an ideal personal space for doing just that. Declaring as much independence as you can as a writer preserves your unique view of the world and personal ways of expressing your thoughts.
Language, Transportation, and the the “Auto”
Claude Shannon, Marshall McLuhan, and Jim Carey were among the first communication theorists to write about the vital connection between human communication and transportation. Moving information, people, and things around faster and faster all became a high industrial priority beginning in the early 19th Century.
Language is part of what binds communication and transportation together. The creative meaning of the English word automobile can be traced to the Greek autos (self) and the Latin mobilis (movable). Again, the “self” in this context does not refer to you. It refers to what the vehicle can do. You may guide the auto but you are not it.
Global Positioning Systems
With a Global Positioning System (GPS), just punch in your destination. Keep one eye on the road and the other on the screen and listen to a dispassionate, non-judgmental voice guide you on your journey.
So what’s lost with this pervasive convenience? First, you never have to worry about how to get from here to there. GPS plans your route. No need for a map in your head. No more pulling over to ask someone how to get somewhere. And after you arrive, you don’t have to remember how you got there. Next time you want to go there GPS already knows the way.
Autopilot
Evolving from early “cruise control” options, high technology automobile manufacturers now install “advanced driver assistance systems” such as Tesla’s Autopilot as standard equipment. So even if you sit in the driver’s seat you don’t have to be inconvenienced by the mechanics of actually driving, at least not when you’re on a highway or freeway.
With autopilot, the “auto” means you’re not the pilot of the “automobile.” You turn over responsibility to the system. Relax. Go ahead and call your girlfriend. If you crash, sue the company. You’re not accountable, remember?
Autonomous Vehicles
People in big cities are getting used to seeing autonomous vehicles on their streets. The cars are being tested for safety, and in some cities they serve as taxis.
We’re back to the meaning of autos again—self. But now we add the Greek word nomos which means “law” or “custom” to create a hybrid term in English—autonomous.
An autonomous vehicle has the ability to operate independently from the person(s) sitting inside. An autonomous vehicle follows it own rules and governs itself. You become less and less your “self” in an autonomous vehicle. And not responsible.
Autonomous Vehicle Rideshare
With traditional Uber and Lyft a human being arrives in their personal car to pick you up and take you to your destination. If you like, you can talk to the driver—even express your preference about whether or not you want to talk on the ride share app before the car arrives. On the way to your destination, you can suggest to the driver to take a slightly better route than the one that is programmed.
The ride share driver can personally attend to some of your needs, like loading and unloading your suitcases at the airport, or just providing a friendly greeting or conversation. You can rate and tip the driver afterwards, confirming the quality of your human connection.
With autonomous vehicles you don’t have to “share” your ride with another person. The ”self” is a completely dis-embodied system external to you that follows its own rules and governs itself. Just jump into the back seat and get to work online.
You: the decision-maker
As AI becomes increasingly present in our everyday lives, we are constantly offered attractive conveniences and comforts. The purpose of this post, and my worldview overall, is not to discourage anyone from engaging with the various manifestations of AI they believe benefit them. AI is already here and getting bigger and stronger by the minute.
We must all adapt to AI. But a decision to fully engage with AI in various situations should represent a conscious decision where the merits and costs of the engagement are considered.
Simple Things
Autocorrect and grammar checker fix things in a standard way while they remove us from our own engagement and struggle with language—vital components of reflective thought and human expression.
GPS navigation takes us where we want to go without requiring us to make a plan or remember how we got there—creating distance from our surroundings and more cognitive loss. With GPS you become a kind of passenger even when you’re driving. The only logistical decision you make is when the system identifies a faster route and needs your permission to re-route the vehicle.
People born into a world of AI programs like autocorrect, grammar checker, and GPS never have to bother to learn some things that make us smarter, more flexible, and more broadly developed human beings in general.
More Complicated Things
Autonomous vehicles will be the dominant form of personal transportation in the future—but that world is still a long way off. In the meantime, for those who can afford it, we have a lot of other autos to consider—autopilot, autonomous vehicles, and autonomous ride share options, for instance.
Go ahead, but never forget: In each case, part of your “self” is being replaced by a machine.
Are you becoming a Non-Player Character?
The term NPC (non-player character) derives from video game parlance. Video game players often use the term as an insult to suggest that someone lacks critical thinking ability, independent thought, or a unique personality.
Considering someone an “NPC” in the non-gaming world means they are perceived as a person who does not think for themselves. They follow a predetermined script and operate without self-determination. They have lost their “selves.”
When we lose parts of our selves we also reduce a crucial dimension of our shared humanity—our real-time, in-person connections with other people.
The purpose of this series of posts is to remind us of that, and to emphasize what we discussed in last week’s post: personal health and success going forward in an AI dominant world depend on expressing yourself interpersonally by means of your unmediated social communication skills.
And by accepting at least a modicum of personal accountability for what you do.
Adapt to Survive and Thrive in any Environment…
The perspective presented in my Substack posts is based in the science of how communication drives the development of organic life, culture, and technology.
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