I am on a forum with other designers, where a designer asked whether anyone had noticed that people had started to talk/message other people as though they were prompting to an AI software.
The story was that this designer had a friend who messaged him via whatsapp for advice on something, but apparently the way the message was written it was like a prompt to an AI tool, rather than a message from a friend. It made this designer very uncomfortable and he decided not to help his friend.
I replied that I had not noticed this, but I had noticed that even with technologies like whatsapp and mobiles, human behaviours have already changed, so it would not surprise me.
For example, in situations where I’d expect a call from a friend, sometimes all I’ve received is a whatsapp message. Where in the past if someone had not seen you in a while, they would ensure they paid you a visit, or invite you over, now a phone call may suffice for a while longer.
Rather than connecting people, a high frequency of technology use has already created another layer between any human to human interaction.
And now with AI you effectively replace a human and can have a conversation with software, so you don’t need to be considerate with your words. I’m sure it is already affecting some people.
Some people are discussing many things with AI as thought they are talking to a friend. In the short term it may help them deal with things on their mind, but in the longer term who knows what the impact will be of fewer real human connections.
There is already much talk of the mental illness that is already growing in our modern societies.
In the same way that medical doctors tell us now to get daily physical exercise e.g. 10,000 steps a day; I believe we will soon be advised to get a certain amount of in-person interaction per week…just so we remain mentally well and don’t lose our ability to connect with others.
To this the designer replied that he already tried to have 2 or 3 coffees with friends per week for at least an hour, and at least one dinner with friends. Very commendable I thought.
Its perhaps too easy to engage in some interaction through a whatsapp call, or feel somewhat stimulated through a computer game, or watching a movie, but we probably need to ensure we make human interactions a part of our routine.
As human beings we can’t ignore the importance of social in person human interactions and their value. So as well our 10,000 steps a day, and 5 fresh fruit/veg per day, we need to add 1-2 social interactions with someone per day, and 3-5 with friends/family per week. Some of these need to be with those that aren’t those you are close to. We need to be able to engage with others too.
So have you been getting a regular dose of real human to human interactions per week?