Was great to be at Greenbelt Festival talking about the new book, and speaking on a panel about AI and Earthly Futures. Both were recorded, and I’ll post links once they’re available.
I mentioned in the talk and the panel the vital need for us to take more radical responsibility for our technology use (and how this links to the Radical Theological idea of the death of the Big Other, meaning that we cannot defer to some Higher Power to save us, or get things done.)
This is highlighted in a paper published last year (which The Telegraph chose to riff on in an editorial yesterday) titled The Vicious Circles of Skill Erosion: A Case Study of Cognitive Automation.
The problem is encapsulated in E.M. Forster’s short story The Machine Stops, which describes a human society so perfectly automated that the humans themselves forget how the machines that serve them actually work… and when the machine breaks, they are left in major trouble.
This is what coders are finding: by using generative AI systems to write code for them, they are coding more quickly… but then losing their own actual coding skills, leading to a vicious circle of cognitive decline and increasing reliance on AI.
This is actually pretty serious. As I note in the book:
Technology has enabled us to get rid of hard physical labour, but this has come with a complex array of consequences, some positive and some negative. These are not simple questions of individual responsibility. In a highly technologized culture where poor-quality food is also the most convenient, the most heavily advertised and the most easily available, the exercise of choice – especially for those with fewer resources – is incredibly difficult. Yes, there are some with the will and the resources to be able to buy and cook fresh food and supplement their sedentary jobs with jogging or visits to the gym, but this is always not a choice supported by messages fired at us by a convenience culture in the midst of a cost of living crisis.
God-Like, page 148
The social history of physical automation is complex. What will the result be when technology enables us also to reduce our cognitive labour?In their advice on how to ‘reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s and other dementias,’ the Alzheimer’s Society is clear: physical activity, healthy eating, and staying mentally active. Past industrial revolutions have impacted the first two; the AI revolution threatens to impact the third.
If we aren’t careful, we will end up in a situation where not only will we have let technology do all the heavy physical lifting, but taking the cognitive load off too. And there will be great pressure to do so:
The parallel with our convenience food economy is deliberate and urgent. It is not just that – unregulated – it will become more convenient to let ChatGPT write that email, produce that slideshow and write the first draft of a script… it is that there will be economic pressure not to take on that cognitive work ourselves. Giving this thinking-work over to AI will be the most convenient and most efficient thing to do… which will mean employers (or their algorithmic managers) questioning workers who are not maximising profits this way, and potentially punishing them with poorer compensation, shift hours or references for ongoing employment.
What this requires of us is – sadly – a whole lot of extra effort! Just as keeping fit and eating healthily is not the path of least resistance, but often – because of commerical and societal pressures – the hardest thing to do, so actually keeping our skills and cognitive fitness up will not be easy either. But if we’re to avoid The Age of Stupid, and falling into the honey trap of being ruled by machines, we have to start now.
If you missed getting a copy of the book at the festival, you can order it here, or get a signed copy exclusively from my local bookshop here.
If you’d like to chat about booking me to speak at an event, or to deliver AI training for your team or organisation, fill in the form on this page and I’ll be in touch. I’ve recently worked with Design MA students at Goldsmiths, business leaders – as well as at festivals and bespoke events too. As well as the themes in the book, I bring expert insights from cutting edge research, informed by my role at the Institute for the Future of Work. Look forward to hearing from you.
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