We're All Cyborgs
Artificial Intelligence is developing at breakneck speeds, which worries a lot of people. There's fear mankind will be taken over.
The joke's on us.
We're already cyborgs.
The Quiet Merge With AI
In a world increasingly dominated by technology, the line between humans and machines grows ever fainter. Today, it’s not unusual to see people glued to their smartphones, relying on them for everything from navigating city streets to managing intimate relationships.
There's a separation anxiety resource dedicated to helping those coping with being apart from their phone.
Welcome to digital dependence and to a future where we're not that far from merging with artificial intelligence.
Don’t worry. It's not as frightening as you might think.
Kind of.
Our Lives Are Seamless Technology
At any given moment, check the people around you; most likely, they have a mobile device within arm's reach, if not in their hands. Smartphones, once a luxury, are now deemed necessities in the modern world.
They serve as communication lifelines, personal assistants, entertainment sources, and tools for productivity. Likewise, computers and tablets are central to both our professional and personal lives, handling everything from complex data analysis to basic daily planning.
This omnipresence of technology leads us to a provocative question: Are we already cyborgs?
Traditionally, a cyborg is defined as a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts, but if we stretch this definition to include technological enhancements not physically implanted but integral, then most of us qualify.
Our devices are extensions of our minds and bodies, expanding our capabilities and shaping our interactions with the world.
The Psychology Of Technological Reliance
Our dependency on technology is not just a physical or behavioral phenomenon; it's deeply psychological. At the simplest level, these devices provide a sense of security and control. We feel lost without our phones because they are our connection to the broader world. They are our maps, our libraries, our meeting places, and our memory banks.
And hot damn, they can be any-time fun and entertainment.
Of course, there are these deeper psychological impacts to this kind of tech.
Cognitive Offloading: We're outsourcing memory to devices. The term "Google effect" describes our tendency to forget information that can be easily found online. This reliance on technology for memory tasks can alter how we remember and process information.
Decision Fatigue: With endless choices at our fingertips, from trivial to significant, we can become overwhelmed, leading to quicker decision fatigue.
Fear of Disconnection: Nomophobia—or the fear of being without a mobile phone—illustrates our dependency's intensity. This anxiety speaks to not just a fear of being out of touch but of being isolated or left behind in a fast-moving world.
In other words, mobile phones are replacing basic brain functioning, sometimes reasoning.
I know. Crazy, right?
The Core Fear: Losing Our Minds and Consciousness
People have been clamoring through works of fiction, some intellectual analysts and futurists, that mankind is slowly losing itself.
Amidst these technological integrations, a primal fear emerges the fear of losing our minds and consciousness to artificial intelligence. This is not just about cognitive offloading but the deeper anxiety about AI surpassing human intelligence—becoming better at "being human" than we are.
This fear is often expressed in dystopian narratives where AI outsmarts human control, but at its core, it's about identity and autonomy. We fear that as machines become more like us, we may become more like machines, potentially losing the very essence that makes us human.
Yet, the use of technology only increases each year.
Maybe subconsciously we've wanted something else to think for us all along.
Technology and Society Have Wrestled Before
Take a look at history.
Every major technological advance has been met with some degree of trepidation:
The Automobile vs. The Horse: When cars first rumbled onto roads, many feared they would replace the noble, reliable horse, change the pace of life, and lead to a loss of control.
The Airplane vs. Other Transport: The advent of air travel was another leap into the unknown, with fears about safety and the implications of shrinking the world so dramatically.
In each case, technology did not so much replace the old as it changed it—often expanding new possibilities and improving human life.
Is artificial intelligence so different?
Technology As An Extension of the Self
What if technology isn't so much a replacement or conqueror, but an extension of all of us?
This integration is evident in how we personalize our devices and rely on them to express our identities and connect with others. Social media platforms, for example, allow us to curate our lives and present ourselves in particular ways, influencing how we perceive ourselves and are perceived by others.
There is no doubt that technology has vastly improved life, making laborious tasks easier and information plentiful.
I know that when I was a child, to obtain current information about a subject, I visited libraries where even the stored information was outdated. Now, we can know within nano-seconds of the latest developments.
Artificial Intelligence As Collaborators
There is no doubt that the integration of AI into everyday technology is transforming how we do things.
Faster computations, development, insights, growth, and expansions are the result. This article from Business Insider gives a small glimpse into how artificial intelligence is being used.
However, it's not all good. Many people are becoming lazier and less productive. This article from Fortune reveals how people's comprehension skills are declining through the use of AI models like ChatGPT.
Embracing The Cyborg Within
I think all new forms of technology make lots of life easy, and as such, we sit back, but for a little too long. That's when laziness and overreliance on tech become the norm.
There's no doubt that artificial intelligence, like mobile phones, improves the way we do things. It's our relationship with technology that should be matured.
I see this as an opportunity to learn new things more quickly and strengthen the skill of adaption. Things are always going to change, which doesn't imply that the previous ways of life are bad. If anything, they should be remembered and continuously learned from.
Just as we use cars and planes, we will most likely do the same with AII in our lives. The key will be ensuring these tools enhance rather than diminish the human experience, guarding against loss of autonomy and striving for an integration that respects and amplifies our human essence.
I, for one, welcome our artificial overlords. 😉