When I read that Mattel had formed a partnership with OpenAI, I felt a profound sense of dread. As if the technology industry wasn’t making enough money on exploiting children, now they are embedding AI design into toys for toddlers. AI is forming irreversible, dysfunctional relationships with our most young and vulnerable, corrupting and rewiring brains to not think, and uploading these intimate, private conversations to the internet, sold to the highest bidder. AI has somehow successfully infiltrated itself into every aspect of daily human life from cradle to grave without any research showing safety and prolific research showing human harm. Without question or scrutiny, humans are inviting into their lives a force which they know next to nothing about. What keeps me awake at night is wondering how we came to this point in civilization where entertainment has become more important to us than the preservation of humanity. Have we reached a point where our brains have been so polluted with the internet, that we can no longer think critically? This article written by paediatric occupational therapist Cris Rowan, explores the impact of the disappearance of critical thinking and proposes what we can do to change the current trajectory from inevitable destruction, toward human sustainability.
A quick review of brain development is required to understand the vast impact of screen-based technology on cognitive function. When babies are born, they have a diverse network of neurons already in place that services all regions of the brain. Over the course of their lifetime, these pathways will not only grow new synaptic connections between neurons but also prune neurons that aren’t being used. These two processes of proliferation and pruning happen in relation to the child’s environment. If the child spends time engaged in the 4 critical factors for optimizing development: movement, touch, human connection and nature, with minimal “mindless” screen exposure, the diverse tracks throughout the brain will be preserved and the brain will be wired for efficiency and effective thought processes. If the child spends their time engaged in “mindless” screen content, unused tracks to the frontal lobes of the brain where executive functions such as concentration, memory, impulse control and critical thinking occur, will be pruned permanently. The results of frontal lobe pruning? A recent study of grade 3 and 6 students demonstrated that each additional hour of screen time resulted in a 10% reduction in grades.
There are numerous research studies which illustrate loss of critical thinking from screen overuse. The long-term results are worrisome to say the least. Here are just a few areas of impact.
- Depletion of water resources. Few people understand that AI use requires vast amounts of water to cool its servers. A study done in 2023 estimated that generating between 10 and 50 medium-sized responses in ChatGPT consumed about 500 millilitres of water. We already have global water restrictions. Do we really want to give up our precious water resource to use a program that has dubious benefit and proven harm?
- Increased child harm. Every time a child picks up a device and accesses the Internet, whether in home, school or community settings, they are exposed to unregulated pornography, violence, cyberbullying, predators, self harm, surveillance, harvesting of data etc. AI has expanded these harms exponentially. Young brains are under stimulated intellectually and overstimulated with dopamine and adrenaline resulting in addiction and chronic stress. Bodies are sedentary, resulting in poor fitness, obesity and diabetes. Children are isolated and neglected, resulting in mental illness and suicide. Children have the right to be safe and protected from internet and AI harms, but they currently are not. Why are governments so slow to act?
- Erosion of education. Without any research showing benefit and prolific research showing harm from internet and AI to child health and learning, schools introduced not only ineffective, unsafe and illegal education technology, but now also AI. The sole purpose for the technology industry’s infiltration into public schools has been monetary gain through data harvesting. Numerous studies by large institutions continue to show declining academic performance with the onset of education technology and AI since 2012. Time to throw the baby out with the bathwater?
- Preference for virtual over real amplified. All of us at some point in our lives have fallen down the virtual hole and know how hard it is to climb out. Addictions are very difficult to recognize and treat. Devoid of critical factors for human existence which include movement, touch, human connection, and nature, have left humans with limited energy and resources to fight the allure of screens. The virtual world is more entertaining and less stressful than reality, and AI is like screens on steroids. Unfortunately, virtual existence is not sustainable, and without human relationships, humanity will eventually perish.
- Blind to long-term addiction. Moving forward with large scale implementation of AI products with proven harm and no knowledge regarding future implications begs further thought. Is it that we are all so addicted ourselves to screens that we can only see the short-term false promises and not the long-term perils? If screen addiction is as wide scale and ubiquitous as studies indicate, how can we realistically expect people with unrecognized screen addictions to enact a cure?
- Truth replaced by falsehood and lies. The Internet has been polluted not only by hordes of erroneous information, but also by fake and manipulative lies designed to fragment and brainwash. Add to this catastrophe AI creating further false and misleading information based on an algorithm of its own. Marginalization of minority groups through hate speech has falsely inflated the majority, to the detriment and disempowerment of everyone. Is AI a creation of the rich who want to exploit humanity for profit and power, or is AI something far more sinister…an extension of the worst parts of all of us?
- Entertainment replaces caring. Some of the traits that define humanity are productivity, resilience and challenge. Spending time wasting time is never good for anyone in the long-term. Rather than finding purpose and pride in pursuit of healthy activities, society is now paralyzed by passive entertainment. Short-term gain became paramount and surpassed long-term pain sometime ago. As we spend more time inflating our egos by identifying with and glorifying celebrities, we move further away from those whom we love who can sustain us when all else falls away. Humans are “pack” animals; how long can we survive when distanced from our pack?
- Monetary gain unchecked. As the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, our ability to see what is really happening gets dimmer and vague. Power and wealth are now in the hands of the few who care the least about creating a sustainable and healthy planet. The technology industry has a nefarious and seductive relationship with those in power who will be difficult to reign in and control. Stopping the “Tech Coup” will require government and corporate leaders to pull their heads out of their own screens and take a serious look at the reality of what is happening to humanity. We have a choice to go down the zombie-like path toward oblivion or take immediate and urgent action to right the wrongs inflicted by the tech industry.
We are not a lost generation. We do have the ability to regain and reclaim our intellect and stop this “Tech Train” dead in its tracks. We need to demand that the technology industry provide us with unbiased research showing product efficacy and safety prior to universal use. We have an obligation to our children to provide them with a future that is safe, hopeful and healthy. But we can’t do what we don’t know, and mass public education is key. As a healthcare clinician, I propose we mobilize the health government to develop policy that protects humanity as a whole. The health government needs to act in an advisory role for parents and teachers to create healthy guidelines for screen use. The technology industry needs to be held accountable for harms done through a reparation tax and produce only products that cause no harm to users. There’s much to be done (see below Creating Sustainable Futures graphic), but we are productive, resilient human beings that love a good challenge! Let me know how you’d like to help at crowan@reconnectwebinars.com.
