There is a lot of talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI) these days. The biggest fear among prognosticators is the technology’s transhuman nature. They warn that, if left unchecked, AI will run amok and program itself to harm the humans who created it. This fear has led to conversations about regulating AI and, in essence, never letting it reach that level where it can harm us. It’s a big topic, and it’s better left for another day.
However, AI is already harming people not by taking them over as its masters but by breaking the bonds of interpersonal human relationships. There is a misnomer in talking about data centers, and AI is relatively new. That is not true. What is true is that, in seeking data, the process has been sped up considerably. People have been using technology for this purpose for at least a decade. Hence the familiar phrase, “Google it.” Search engines are now being replaced by AI tools such as ChatGPT and similar platforms.
Gen Z is the first generation that never knew a world without the internet. Generations Alpha and Beta, who follow them, will never know a world without AI. With data at their fingertips on almost every topic imaginable, computers have displaced library books and the need to access the experiences of previous generations to solve problems or answer questions.
It is not uncommon for young parents today to search for ways to raise their children and trust inanimate AI more than their own parents or grandparents, who have already lived the experience and have much to teach. Similarly, patients are rushing to the internet and AI to diagnose their own ailments and shun their doctor’s knowledge and training.
What humanity is on the verge of losing is the experience and knowledge of elders passing on to the next generations because they don’t feel they need it or want it. The expected result will be a loss of family traditions and healthy relationships, replaced by nonconsequential superficial interactions.
If AI drives a wedge between family members, then the family’s traditions are also on the verge of being lost. Traditions have been central to family culture, from something as simple as passing down what works with a fussy newborn to a Christmas cookie recipe from a great-grandmother. Culture is wrapped up in passing knowledge and experience from one generation to the next. If family culture fails to exist because the information can be found elsewhere or isn’t wanted, the family itself will exist only for perfunctory tasks or raising children devoid of a family’s uniqueness. It will drastically redefine the roles of parents and grandparents, much to the detriment of future generations.
Relying solely on technology instead of advice from an elder only isolates younger generations, even if they don’t see it that way. Rejecting the advice of those with more experience has unintended consequences. Specifically, it erodes respect for parents and grandparents. After all, if they have nothing to offer, they are just another person who doesn’t deserve any special consideration.
AI can be helpful if people remember it should never interfere adversely with human relationships. Like most advances, AI is a two-edged sword, one helpful, the other harmful. Keep that in mind the next time you dictate a question into your phone and expect an immediate answer.