Recalibrating your analogue

I’ve seen a few stories recently about how people (often men) are sort of disappearing into AI blackholes. Whether it’s being convinced you are a spiritual leader, hunted by the CIA, unhealthy sexual fantasies, or generally reinforcing self-beliefs it’s hard to see how this is going to stop. As humans we’re programmed to anthropomorphise, we see Jesus’s face in toast for goodness sake, so even when you know it’s not real, it’s pretty hard to resist the emotional response that this AI tool genuinely knows you and is talking to you.

This is going to be bad news for everyone. Young teenage boys will be creating the women of their fantasies and then disappointed and angry that real women aren’t like that. People with views leaning towards extremism will have those validated and amplified. Anyone who creates anything will be told that their work is epic, with none of the criticism required to refine it, and then disappointed when the world doesn’t agree. I am not a psychiatrist but I sense that this all creates a dangerous schism between the mental image we construct of ourselves and the reality of the world.

One antidote, which sadly won’t be adopted by those who need it most, is to purposefully recalibrate your analogue quotient. If AI fulfils more functions in life that people used to operate, then that should be balanced with deliberate analogue options. This can be small, to more meaningful, from objects to people. Here are some examples:

• Listening to music on vinyl – okay, okay, I would say this. But it does change your relationship to music, a powerful human art form. It also screws with the Spotify algorithms.
• Playing physical board games with real people – I’m not much of a board game enthusiast, but they are an excellent example of how people have rediscovered some of the analogue pleasures in this physical format.
• Attending book clubs – even if you read a digital version, there’s something about sitting with others and talking about a book and hearing different perspectives.
• Engaging in a non-digital activity – crocheting, walking, cooking, watching live sport, whatever.
• Opting for analogue versions – I like to mix my watch wearing between an Apple watch and an automatic. Mainly because it reminds me of the difference between the two, and because, again, I like to mess with the data. Maren runs a postcard based leadership course, to break the habit of everything being inbox based.
• Get a dog. So much analogue. And slobber. And fur.

There’s obviously lots more, but the point is that we may have to be much more purposeful in developing these as the AI, digital version for everything becomes default.

(Image https://www.flickr.com/photos/guysie/11765120066)

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