More human, less artificial
A recent study conducted over four months by MIT researchers on the neural and behavioural consequences of using Large Language Models (LLMs) for essay writing, has found that participants in the study who relied on AI for their essay writing, in the end showed lower neural, linguistic and behavioural levels than their counterparts who were made to use their own knowledge or just limited themselves to using traditional search engines.
The subject of this reflection is not, strictly speaking, AI, which on many levels is proving to be an important tool for humanity. The focus here is on something more profound which time and again does not find space in our reflection on the effect of technology on our humanity.
The pertinent question is the following: is our thinking, feeling and relating becoming less human and more artificial? We know for a fact that our brain, our emotional selves, and even the life of the spirit are dimensions in our humanity that are continuously being moulded.
We are in a constant state of becoming, according to the experiences that we choose, the life choices we make, the things we choose to focus on, the people we spend our time with, and the information we consume. The diversity of human dimensions that we possess have a certain plasticity to them, and rather than being rigidly set, are continuously shaped by our experiences.
The MIT study quoted above is a clear example of what happens when we increasingly start to delegate our human functions, substituting them for something ‘artificial’. The effects of this substitution can be seen when we delegate our cognitive abilities and expect an algorithm to do the work for us, when our human sense of empathy is dependent on what we are fed by social media, when our personal responsibility is delegated to institutions that are showing deep cracks and limitations. Ultimately when our humanity is substituted by or delegated to ‘artificial’ channels, it starts to become impoverished, accumulating cognitive, emotional and spiritual debt.
The deeper questions that we might possibly need to ask ourselves as we enter the slower summer months, where we feel the human need to rest and unwind, is what is nourishing my humanity and giving it shape? Where am I overly-relying and overly-exposing myself to technology, AI, and endless scrolling, to the detriment of the basic human experiences that can positively affect my humanity at a profound level?
The sense of tiredness with a life that is becoming overwhelmingly complex and chaotic will have to be addressed by concrete choices. The tiredness is not physiological, and the deficit is not financial. It is not a good sign when the so-called “humanities” in educational institutions and academia get less funding, support and emphasis. Language, history, literature, art and spirituality are the best representation of what the human heart is capable of, something no algorithm can embrace and express, notwithstanding the constant advancements.
The breakthrough that is more urgently needed is not in artificial generative intelligence, but in human and emotional intelligence. The latter needs nourishment and constant engagement if it wants to flourish. No institution (political, religious or otherwise) can do that for us. It will take small but decisive human steps.
This article appeared on The Sunday Times of Malta edition of June 29, 2025. Found here.
