What Happens To Us When Technology Grows
While I was in school during the late 2000s through the mid-2010s, our teachers constantly warned us that we needed to become highly efficient members of society because robots were coming. They told us machines would first take over industrial jobs and then move on to others, so we should prepare by learning specialized skills that robots couldn’t replicate.
As kids, we didn’t believe them. We had heard similar predictions our entire lives and had yet to see them materialize beyond television shows and movies. There were no flying cars, no humanoid robots walking among us. We were confident that this future wouldn’t touch our lives anytime soon.
Now that I’m older, I realize those teachers were both right and wrong. Yes, robots have taken over many industrial and warehouse jobs. But something far more subtle, and perhaps more dangerous has happened. Robots didn’t just come for our labor. They came for our minds.
I was taught to fear robots, but what truly scares me now is who we are becoming because of artificial intelligence.
When you look closely at modern human life, it becomes clear just how deeply we rely on AI and technology to solve nearly every problem we face. My fear is that AI is slowly dulling our abilities and increasing our dependence over time. It begins with small conveniences. Take spelling, for example. With the introduction of autocorrect on our smart devices, our ability to spell correctly has dropped dramatically.
A study conducted in the United Kingdom illustrates this decline. In a poll of more than 2,000 adults, roughly one-third could not spell definitely, a similar proportion failed to choose the correct spelling of separate, and nearly two-thirds (65%) selected an incorrect spelling of necessary from a list that didn’t even include the correct option (Huffington Post). If adults are struggling this much, imagine the impact on children. Many kids today can’t spell common words or distinguish between homophones, skills that were once foundational.
AI certainly has its advantages. It allows us to access information quickly, explains complex ideas clearly, and provides insight across nearly every area of life. It can even offer guidance and advice. But at what point does helpful become harmful?
Young adults attend college to learn, collaborate, and develop skills that prepare them for the real world. Yet today, AI usage among students is at an all-time high, with many attempting to get through college without actually learning. One woman shared that her nephew, a ninth grader enrolled in a dual-enrollment college program, noticed that most students rely on ChatGPT to complete their assignments. When exam day arrives even with open notes and calculators many fail miserably. Her nephew chooses not to use ChatGPT because he values his education and genuinely wants to learn.
This trend is backed by data. According to The Latest Insights into Academic Integrity: Instructor & Student Experiences, Attitudes, and the Impact of AI (2024 Update), Wiley’s survey found that nearly all instructors (96%) believe at least some of their students cheated within the past year (Ed Colby). That number is only expected to grow as technology continues to advance. The consequences are serious: cognitive decline, weaker critical thinking skills, and reduced job preparedness.
As AI expands, essential human abilities begin to fade creativity, deep thinking, and the capacity to form meaningful relationships. Loneliness is at an all-time high among younger generations. A study titled Experiences in Human-AI Relationships Scale revealed that 75% of participants turn to AI for advice, while 39% view AI as a dependable presence in their lives (Keith Robert Head).
The human mind is the most powerful tool we possess, and the same tool capable of undoing us. When we stop doing the work ourselves, our minds suffer. Critical thinking, problem-solving, and creative freedom are not optional; they are necessary for navigating life. When we surrender our decision-making to programs and algorithms, we strip away what makes us human and risk becoming little more than extensions of AI.
Humanity’s relentless pursuit of speed and efficiency may ultimately harm us more than it helps. Life was meant to be experienced, not optimized. Yet the human experience is increasingly interrupted by the very intelligence we created.