Will our Brains Sag too?

Photo by Lacey Williams on Unsplash

Another perspective on how automation may change what we become is that technology will drive mass stupidity. Perhaps it is already starting. It's possible, for example, that the logical and observational fallacies needed to believe in a flat earth allow some people to truly believe the earth is flat. In his Project Syndicate Article "The Stupid Economy" Harold James puts forward the idea that we may well devolve into stupider, less satisfied people, or that people will start boasting of their mental exercise regimen. It's hard to know which would be worse. However there might be another path ...

James observes correctly how technology changed us physically "... Gradually, the basic nature of work had changed. By the late twentieth century, farmers sat on tractors, and even coal mining had become largely mechanized. There were few people in developed economies still earning incomes from the sweat of their brows.

Human physiognomy also changed, especially when the Industrial Revolution’s full potential was realized. Sedentary lifestyles produced visibly different people. Waistlines expanded as previously salubrious diets, needed to fuel massive physical exertion, became increasingly unhealthy.

Some people saw these changes happening, and worried about them. A growing minority started to pursue intense physical activity not in fields or factories, but in leisure settings. The sweat of one’s brow was no longer associated with productive work, but with consumption – often conspicuous consumption. Gyms became new sources of community. And as coworkers started to exercise together, enlightened employers came to see such recreation as a valuable source of physical and mental wellbeing." ....

His argument is that, just as it happened with our physical effort, so it may happen with our intellectual health.  

"AI and automation have obvious implications for employment. But they will also affect the human mind. The jobs of the future, most of them in the services sector, will require a different set of skills, particularly interpersonal skills that robotic applications – even Siri or Alexa – cannot provide. The ability to perform complex calculations or sophisticated analyses will be far less important.

The problem is that many older activities – be it driving in difficult conditions on a mountain road or taking on a complex legal case – are a source of fulfillment for countless people, because they provide opportunities to confront difficult, intrinsically motivated challenges. Soon, those activities, like plowing a medieval field, may be lost forever.

Worse still, ample evidence shows that people may have reason to regret retiring from mentally demanding jobs and embarking on a life of leisure. It turns out that not having to think on a regular basis is neither restful nor enjoyable. On the contrary, it tends to lead to poor mental and physical health, and a deteriorating quality of life."

James has a bleak view of the potential prospect: "Mass stupidity will be driven by technology. But, as with the cult of physical fitness that took hold during the Industrial Revolution, a new industry of intelligence training will likely emerge to counter mental deterioration. Listening to someone constructing a logically articulated argument will become an exclusive source of aesthetic pleasure and distinction. “Difficult” works of literature or visual arts will become an ever more attractive form of conspicuous consumption.

And yet something about this seems deeply unpleasant. It is bad enough to listen to people boast about their physical fitness. But braggadocio about superior intellect will be far worse. The need to prove oneself as a lasting relic of the old human supremacy will threaten not just the common good, but also our common humanity."

Yet there are emerging outlets that maintain and develop our intellect without displaying a Mensa certificate or the mental equivalent of lycra. The challenges of some computer games require advanced problem solving. Massive multi-player universes like Eve Online require careful analysis of ship configuration, although some braggadocio does creep into the community. More interesting are events like capture the flag (CTF) competitions where innocents like myself are trained to analyse code fragments to see how to crack them. Our critical facilities are stretched, and there are always more challenges.

The most hopeful, though, are some of the emerging citizen scientist initiatives. I follow Meow-Ludo Meow-Meow whose Facebook feed is littered with interesting events and devices like the MINION - a portable, realtime device for biological analyses using DNA and RNA sequencing. He is a founder of BioFoundry -  a not for profit community lab space in Sydney with a mission to democratise science, and that provides lab space and equipment. After a recent event in a rural town, they are connecting hacker groups with local farmers to develop new advances in agriculture.

These local initiatives, talks by authors, intensive gardening and plant breeding, citizens becoming engaged and learning new ideas and approaches, are all ways of developing skills that can keep our brains working and healthy. I hope it will be enough. The flat earth conferences get larger every year.