Is AI Creating an Anti-Human Future?
One thing that surprised me about becoming a parent was how my focus shifted from the here and now to the future. The time and energy I used to spend on maximizing the weekend radically shifted to planning for his future. I worry over things that I never did before - rising housing costs, the environment, and nuclear programs. What will the world be like when he ventures out into it? Did my generation do enough to curtail impending doom? Will he have the same opportunities to pursue a good life as I did?
Traveling back in time to a simpler world isn’t an option, no matter how much I lament the bygones of Sunday visiting, opening day of dove season, and three static channels coming through the aluminum-foil embellished rabbit ears TV. We live in a different world today than yesterday. Kids encounter different challenges, threats, and risks than we did. Pandemics, technology, terrorism. It’s an environment in which we’re all so incredibly technologically connected, yet very disconnected from what it means to be human. We don’t know our neighbors, we don’t volunteer in our community, and we haven’t had anyone over for a dinner party in ages.
2026 has been a big year for many, with aftershocks from war, economy, politics, and technology radiating throughout our microcosms. I’ve had the opportunity to spend a few months up to my ears in Artificial Intelligence (AI) research, trying to scope the challenge, identify safeguard options, and come up with ideas for ethical and effective policies. In some ways, the AI boom reminds me of the early 2000s Internet explosion (Y2K, anyone?), the emergence of the BlackBerry (how I hated texting), and the upheaval that accompanied social media. So many of the technologies that were supposed to make our lives radically better improved a few things, and ushered in a plethora of new challenges, which our inexperienced society attempted to navigate. The grand technology adventure that has dominated the 21st century leaves many generational cross-overs like myself wondering if opening Pandora’s Box of connectivity was really worth it?
AI is a tricky beast. It makes many aspects of my day-to-day work easier. Time I previously spent proofreading can not be allotted to an extra 20 minutes of yoga, walking my dog, or chatting over coffee with a friend. It’s an incredible tool that makes many aspects of life more efficient; however, it’s causing second and third-order effects that are challenging to say the least. Many college students simply won’t read, and in just a matter of a few years, they’re losing the ability, drive, or inspiration to write. AI-generated deepfakes claiming pending devstation are terrifying people who consume manipulated media day in and day out. Medical professionals spend more time looking at the screen than the patient sitting right in front of them. Professionals are offloading communication, documentation, feedback, and idea generation to AI, instead of drawing on their depth of experience.
There’s some concern that AI is paving the way for an “anti-human future.” Tristan Harris, the co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, has warned that the future will hold economic incentives for AI-generated outputs, and lack economic valuing of human labor, as it will be inefficient and inaccurate compared to AI-generated work. Where would such a dystopian world leave humanity? My primary fears center around our growing cognitive dependence on AI-empowered functions. Instead of using their brain to come up with effective solutions to real-world problems, people are directing aspects of critical decision-making over to AI. Employees and students all seem shocked when I ask them to author something authentic - their own paper, report, briefing - and not depend on AI tools for generation. I’m reminded of the old adage a college coach used to yell at me post-injury, “If you don’t use it, you lose it!”
The more I work with AI, the more I come back to this fundamental question: What does it mean to be human?
I worry that our future world won’t offer as close a connection to humanity as you and I may have experienced in our younger years. The next generation is certainly entering into uncharted territory - one where intelligence exists outside of the confines of the human experience. Many aspects of my own work responsibilities have been automated by AI, and I’m trying to hone in on what it means for me to be human in 2026. What worthwhile contributions am I making to our community? What responsibilities do I have that AI cannot replace? What skills do I need to strengthen to prepare myself and others for the world ahead?
AI is a fascinating technology, of which we do not know the bounds. Our adversaries are rapidly advancing their capabilities, and we must keep pace. Sometimes, this means releasing technology into the world when we’re not quite sure how it’ll end up. The human things that continue to matter in the rapidly changing environment aren’t algorithms or optimization - it's the things we think of when we ask ourselves what we’re really here for, and how we can make the most of our fleeting time on this earth.
Good judgment, courage, inspiration, tenacity, empathy - these don’t come from AI - they come from living a human life, and living it fully. We read, we think, we talk, we do, we make mistakes, we share lessons learned, we work together, and we try again and again and again until something works. It's our collective knowledge and insights from doing things - not delegating them to some machine - that we figure out the answers to some of humanity’s most pressing questions, including: What should it mean to be human? Preparing for an AI-empowered future isn’t just about beefing up our technology skills - it’s teaching the next generation to be human - how to think, how to work hard, how to do meaningful things, and how to build real relationships in a world that’s full of anti-human substitutes.