Technology changes people and society. Electricity has transformed mankind’s nighttime. Agriculture brought settlement and civilization. Thanks to vaccines and antibiotics, many diseases have been eradicated or controlled. Human life expectancy is less than a century and he has doubled. These technologies and their impact have made our world what it is today. The impact of technology on our biology is also enormous, but perhaps under-appreciated. Fire, the technology of cooking food, has transformed our digestive system differently than other mammals during the evolution of our species.
Technology changes people and society. Electricity has transformed mankind’s nighttime. Agriculture brought settlement and civilization. Thanks to vaccines and antibiotics, many diseases have been eradicated or controlled. Human life expectancy is less than a century and he has doubled. These technologies and their impact have made our world what it is today. The impact of technology on our biology is also enormous, but perhaps under-appreciated. Fire, the technology of cooking food, has transformed our digestive system differently than other mammals during the evolution of our species.
The impact of technology on individual behavior is cumulative and can cause significant social consequences. Agriculture was one such example. We are now living through another period of such behavior change, which may or may not have lasting transformative social impacts, depending on what we are doing now. not. Smartphones and social media are disrupting social connections. We regret this, but hardly consider what kind of tsunami this is building towards.
The impact of technology on individual behavior is cumulative and can cause significant social consequences. Agriculture was one such example. We are now living through another period of such behavior change, which may or may not have lasting transformative social impacts, depending on what we are doing now. not. Smartphones and social media are disrupting social connections. We regret this, but hardly consider what kind of tsunami this is building towards.
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“With increased access to smartphones and increased internet use, psychological well-being among adolescents worldwide began to decline after 2012.” This is data from 37 countries by Jean M. Twenge, Jonathan is the conclusion of a study based onHaidt et al., Twenge book generation Let’s dig deeper into the issue. The deteriorating mental health of teens is devastating. Self-harm, hospitalization and suicide rates have doubled since 2012. For a phenomenon of this magnitude, proving causation will take even longer, but the direct impact of smartphones and social media is inevitable.
Another anecdotally evident and currently fairly well-studied effect of this ‘digital complex’ is on ‘attention’. The complex is a beachhead for the “attention economy.” It thrives on capturing and monopolizing our attention, one of our most important cognitive resources. Nothing will happen unless you are careful. Everything from relationships and learning to problem solving and growth requires attention. Everything is ruined when attention is hijacked.
Consider the tangible impact of digital complexes on attention. People who read a lot on digital media are shallow readers. Evidence is accumulating (e.g., reading Marianne Wolfe and Nicholas Carr) that our comprehension of, our retention of, and our ability to make use of what we read is diminishing. It has an even more detrimental effect on children who read primarily in digital format. fMRI studies show that the brain regions involved in reading are largely undeveloped for digital readers. People are losing their ability to read meaningfully and profitably.
Technology isn’t all bad. Electricity, agriculture, and fire have mostly been good for us, but nuclear technology has pushed us over the edge. Amazing scientific progress and its applications are the foundation of modern life. However, progress also has negative effects, some of which are unintended and unexpected. Efforts to regulate and control new technologies are important, as negative consequences seem inevitable. This is equally, if not more, important for artificial intelligence, the technology that disrupts the world today with both tremendous hope and dystopian horror.
Consider just one aspect of AI: its impact on education. AI can definitely be used in beneficial ways. For example, AI-based continuous assessment of student learning helps create customized instructional plans to suit every student’s pace and interests. Alternatively, any learner can use AI-based training or learning modules as if they had a personal tutor. AI applications in education will face the same challenges as other information and communication technology platforms. This has to do with the nature of human learning, which is essentially a social and human process. But let’s not dwell on this. The most serious concern is the impact of AI on the basics of education.
With AI in the hands of students, homework poses a problem. With rapid advances in AI, we can ask AI to do most of the things we ask our students to do. This is a small manifestation of a deeper phenomenon of thought outsourcing. Students who give AI assignments are outsourcing their thinking. Teachers can do the same. You can also ask the AI to create lesson plans and assess student responses.
AI will make it possible to outsource the thinking of everyone. The human temptation to take the path of least resistance can overwhelm other considerations. It is clear that education, in which thinking skills are important, is likely to degenerate and collapse in many parts. As we continue to outsource our thinking for generations, we may lose the very ability to think, or our ability to think may be rapidly diminished. We must not forget the effect fire has had on our digestive system and the effect digital reading has had on our ability to learn from letters.
AI’s biggest experts are sounding the alarm. If we are not careful, we may soon find ourselves in another abyss, as we did with nuclear technology. In education it is an obvious possibility, and perhaps in work and notions of truth as well.
Anurag Behar is CEO of Azim Premji Foundation.
