By Frank J. Diekmann
If you’re a parent, a grandparent, an aunt or an uncle, or, if maybe you were once a child yourself or have ever seen a child, pay attention. Especially if you’re reading this on a mobile device, because one expert has a disturbing warning for you.
The CU Daily published a long and fascinating piece on comments made by Zach Kass, an AI futurist, consultant, adjunct professor and the former head of Go To Market for OpenAI, who spoke to TruStage’s Discovery conference recently and shared some provocative but generally positive comments about artificial intelligence and the future of work and mankind.
But he wasn’t AI (all-in) on everything AI and electronic: In fact, he was AO (all-out) on the effects of personal devices (phones) on humanity, and especially on children.
Dehumanization Theory
Specifically, Kass said he is worried about the “Theory of Dehumanization,” which holds that “at some point a material percentage of the population is going to be more interested in a virtual reality than a physical one.
I don’t know about you, but I think we’re past the theory here. And wait (unhappily) until virtual reality headsets become commonplace.
“The reality is while every parent talks about their child as being smarter than they were at their age, not just because they’re a proud parent, but because their child, in fact, probably is smarter,” said Kass. “Something else that is happening is most parents are willing to talk about the fact their child, or at least one of their children’s friends, is less social. We’re seeing this incredible rise right now that is well documented of anxiety, depression, reclusiveness and isolation among the younger generation that is, quite frankly, addicted to their devices to such a degree that many of them are in fact far more comfortable in a virtual reality.
“Physical eye contact, especially sustained, is quite hard. Hard conversations not on text have become really challenging for many of the younger generation and this is something that we should be very concerned about. I will simply say this: we should not have given kids smartphones and we definitely shouldn’t have given them social media.”
Opportunity to Have ‘Noble Impact’
“Now, the reality is policing these things into oblivion is actually quite hard,” he continued. “There’s going to be a gray market and as much as we want to try, it will be very hard to simply rip phones out of kids’ hands. Passing no-phone zones at schools in places like Florida and Texas is a very important step, but I will argue to all of you–and I think the most important place credit unions can start having a massive and very noble impact on the world–is the reinvestment in alternatives.”
Kass argued that human beings were not designed to look at phones and screens, but the reason so many people do is that in many cases it is a better option for spending free time.
“We must now more than ever reinvest in the physical communities, in the physical realities in which we live,” he argued. “There is nothing more noble now than investing in things like retail, creating tax subsidies and tax abatements so that local businesses can thrive again. We must create bike lanes and sidewalks and spaces people want to be in outside. This is so important, because in a world where our virtual realities become even more addicting than they are today, we want people to choose the better path.”
Palaces of the People
Kass cited the book “Palaces of the People” by Eric Klinenberg, which makes the argument that the most important thing governments can invest in now is the physical infrastructure that surrounds people’s lives.
“We need to invest because these are the places that we should be called to spend time with each other,” said Kass. “One of the most important opportunities I think we’re about to have in a world of AI is reimagining the human experience. I believe fundamentally the most important element to our reality is time with friends and family and physical community, and we must not forget that.”
Now, About that ‘Union’
Thanks for these couple of moments of your time. Now, put down that device and if you have kids, make them put down theirs, get outside and find a community or create one.
Community is not exactly a new idea. Perhaps you’ve heard of something that has the word “union” in the name.
Frank J. Diekmann s cooperator in chief with the CU Daily. He can be reached at [email protected].
