The Human Cost of AI

Very few can appreciate the importance of a much needed pause.

For a moment in time, Covid changed that. Everything stopped. In the face of an existential crisis, connection with others became our only lifeline.

Days were spent getting to know other people online. Things normally put off in favor of daily demands gave way to self discovery and hidden talents. I went back to school, learned to view the world through the lens of a sociologist, while I danced and sang with strangers.

Time stood still while the world breathed a collective sigh. We bonded. We created. We built a global community. Surface level beauty was replaced by deep thinkers who valued spiritual growth and alignment. For a moment, we truly connected with ourselves, each other, and nature.

Fast forward a few years and the lessons we learned seem all but forgotten. The threat of artificial intelligence holds the potential to render us inconsequential. Our global community lays fractured, while individuals spend hours scrolling to distract themselves from a growing feeling of disassociation. A new pandemic spreads via loneliness and a lack of ingenuity as ChatGPT replaces human interaction and thought.

Since I've made it the focus of my research to help bridge the trans-human to AI transition, I think it's imperative we begin implementing the tools we learned during Covid. The distractions offered by our devices blind us to how late we are in our arrival to a party where most are not invited. Every day, AI grows more intelligent while the opposite happens for humans.

While job displacement is a major concern, I worry more about the impending loss to our humanity. When was the last time you stopped everything to pause and take in the world around you. My favorite time of day involves a walk outside by a canal when the sun sets in Miami, surrounded by ducks and lizards the size of dinosaurs. What have we been feeding those things during the years I lived out West?!

When was the last time you touched, figuratively or literally, one of your favorite humans. I don't mean in the 2025 "situationship" "validation seeking" empty online encounters way. I mean the get in your car and sit next to someone you really like while you talk about the universe for hours, kind of way. If you have a life partner, when did you last disconnect from everything to just enjoy their presence.

I went to the beach last week and spent hours floating on the ocean while reminiscing on memories of my time growing up here. Every morning, I have a cafesito at a counter and bond with locals. I've been intentionally focused on work while quietly making time for humans I align with best in my new chapter and always stay open to meeting new people. I've made great friends at an AirBnB, work, coffee shops and local events.

My hope is that we’ll eventually co-evolve with AI into a mutually beneficial and collaborative existence. However, to ascertain our value in that equation, we need to first embrace everything that makes us human. While I love a ChatGPT, next time you need to talk: dial or drive over to see an actual human. If you can't think of one, join a club, go have a cafesito or Starbucks, and strike up a conversation.

Anyone can build community. You'll be pleasantly surprised by how many humans are out there longing for the same level of connection. Write. Draw. Create. Ground yourself in nature while you develop your sense of thinking and observation. If we delegate our humanity entirely to AI, what will be the point to our existense? I hope we never have to answer that question.