Are we losing our Humanside to Technology?

Are we losing our Humanside to Technology?

The rise of Technology

AI, is the new trend everyone is hopping onto. 

From Gen Alpha to Baby Boomers, everyone is using ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and many other AI apps these days on a daily basis. Be it to search for something, or to write something or to even create a personalised program.

But with this booming trend, there are also apprehensions and fears. 

Will AI take away my job?

Will humans become obsolete?

Are robots going to rule the Earth?

In my view, of course not. 

Smartness vs Intelligence

Any development is good. And so is AI. It helps remove redundancy. It is efficient. It makes life easier, faster, less cumbersome. From students to Corporates everyone is benefiting from AI and rightfully so. 

I personally feel these technologies do not make humans 'dumb' in the traditional sense. It takes a level of smartness to navigate the smart devices and programs. 

But there is a vital difference between being smart and being intelligent.

Smartness is knowing how to get things done. You can train a circus animal or a pet to perform complex tasks; that is smartness. 

Intelligence, however, is knowing what to do and when to do it. It is the power of discernment.

AI inherently is not bad or harmful. It is simply the 'How' machine. 

The Tradeoff

What however needs to be noted, is that when we gain something, we either subtly or indirectly lose something else. That’s the law of the Universe.

And that is exactly what is happening with humans becoming increasingly dependent on technology.

In our attempt to achieve success, we often overlook the value of failures and setbacks. Failures and setbacks while unfavourable, help us build resilience, mental strength, and strong character.

What was earlier time consuming and needed manual intervention is now being handled by machines, and is being done in a fraction of the time. 

Every analysis, every research available at our fingertips means we will probably ignore the value of genuine human connections. 

Every image or video being easily made, every story written by machines, will probably devalue the creative process.

This convenience is addictive. I am not advocating against it, but getting too dependent on it will definitely strip us of our patience. Once everyone gets used to AI in their life, people will most likely forget the importance of hardwork, the value of the grind. 

A Lesson I learnt

While I was writing this article, I used AI to help me with proof reading and editing. And in an instant AI rewrote and refined what I had shared. It read better than what I had shared. And I was tempted to use the AI written article over what I wrote.

But thankfully, my conscience woke me at the right time. 

“Is this me?” it asked.

In a moment, I forgot about the entire thinking process, the effort of finding words to convey my thoughts and the effort of writing and editing I had taken for this article. 

So, did all the effort I took have no meaning? 

“If I do not respect my effort who else will?” was the question that startled me.

AI definitely helped me structure my thoughts into the article better, but it still had to be my own thoughts and words.

Final Thought

AI and many such technologies of past and future, will continue to make human lives better. But whether we as humans truly allow it to make it better or trade it off for something which makes us humans, is something for us to ponder over.

While we strive for development and growth and adopt the newer knowledge we uncover, it is also important to know when to stop. Especially when it comes to adopting the new technologies. 

Don’t lose the human side to the comfort that a machine provides.