The Price of AI
How to make sure it works for you (and not vice versa)
AI is one of many technologies.
Thus, it makes us better and worse. It extends abilities. But it also erodes them.
Where is that line?
Humans depend on tools.
They have done so since the dawn of history.
Clothing, clocks, and cellphones: all technology. They make us more efficient, and in doing so, improve the quality of life. Depending on tools is never a problem in itself.
AI is just that. It performs tasks on our behalf.
It is emotional, cognitive, and creative in nature.
There is a problem, however. On the one hand, AI improves almost anything humans produce. But it can also fully substitute human abilities.
That even goes for relational skills. Take the phenomenon of AI companions.
If your AI girlfriend tells you you are perfect, it will be harder to get better - and harder to find a real one.
Dependency on AI may prove deeply unhealthy.
This is true for any technology.
When it does, it restricts long-term growth by making life too easy. AI can be used to scratch an itch that its user should be scratching themselves. This bypasses the chance to become a better person.
The relationship, then, is one of reliance, not self-improvement.
Romantic AI companions are an excellent example hereof.
They are programmed to mimic sentient partners. But this creates a maladaptive dependency. The user deceives themselves into believing there is another individual on the other side of the screen.
As a result, they grow codependent.
Sexual aids simulate physical intimacy. But AI companions go even further. They deepen emotional entanglement.
For lonesome people, it can be a nasty trap.
Healthy AI use is the opposite.
It augments the user’s abilities and leaves them less dependent. AI can make you a better person. The AI fiend (seeking digital companionship) could use it to understand real relationships instead.
Technology either refines human ability or lulls it to sleep.
It always cuts both ways.
A useful question for any tool one uses: Am I better for it, even tomorrow? If not, you may be outsourcing self-development to a device.
AI is a fruitful partner and a seductive pacifier. It strengthens and weakens.
The user decides.