AI and Our Awareness of Human Energetics
Excessive use of technology and AI is making us feel more connected to humanity’s intrinsic worth.
Over the past few weeks, there has been an influx of AI-related political news; from the UK’s AI Safety Summit to the US Executive Order on the safe, secure and trustworthy development and deployment of AI and the G7 declaration on International Guiding Principles on AI. Whilst these political events were taking place, I experienced three situations which got me thinking about the personal, rather than the political, aspect and impact of AI. I’ll speak about them below, but my main idea is this: the more we rely on generative AI and technology, the more sensitive and aware we become to human energy and the souls which embody them. I’ve felt and seen these delicate and subtle shifts over the years, and they are often quite difficult to make sense of or even put a finger on. And I’m sure that you’ve felt and seen them too. Let me explain.
Human vs AI communication
It all started when I stumbled across this BBC A to Z guide on AI terms. Like words such as “wifi” or “personal hotspot” these terms will become more mainstream as we begin to understand what AI can or could do. Yet the full human implications aren’t obvious. Phrases well known to the AI policy wonks among us such as “Hallucination” and “Large Language Models” are relatively straightforward to comprehend from a technical perspective. But others, such as “AI ghosts” – where people can gain a form of digital immortality like a hologram of Elvis performing at a concert – is less easy to grasp and seems counterintuitive to the human circle of life.
Whilst technically fascinating and an intriguing idea, it feels spiritually and energetically “off” and could change how we see and relate to performers. It may also explain why some artists, such as Pink, have recently been dehumanised by fans throwing objects on stage whilst performing. Dr Lucy Bennett thinks the reason for this is because “some people are doing it because it’s harder to be seen by artists on social media”, highlighting that the relationship between a performer and their audience is nurtured on visibility, connection and understanding. This is something an AI ghost could never truly replicate.
In contrast, the more human-focused “human memorial” art work by British artist, Jeremy Deller, involved hundreds of men dressing up as World War I “ghost” soldiers to take up space in public places across the UK for people to see and interact with. The purpose of this was to emphasise the human connection we have to people from the past and how their souls and spirits still reside with us today. The physical recreation of the soldiers left some people in tears because of their connection to the work, the meaning it held, and the emotional energy connected to it. Would an AI equivalent had a similar effect?
The second situation – and probably the most bizarre of the three – was when I was attempting to speak to someone at an online bank I use. After investigating how to speak to someone for help, that “someone” was an agent called Kim followed by another agent called Melody. What spooked me was how quickly “Kim” provided a response, followed by a more detailed and quick response from “Melody”. With much talk about generative AI, the rise of robot workers and scaremongering (and slightly utopian) comments made by Elon Musk about a workless future, my initial reaction to speaking to these customer agents were that they were robot agents and not human beings. The fact that I assumed this tells us how much AI is – and could – interfere and infiltrate human communication channels.
The reality was that they were human agents using generative AI to speed up their response time to customer queries. But the point is how quickly some of us are jumping to the conclusion that we’re speaking to AI when the interaction doesn’t quite resemble human qualities or quirks such as slowness or uncertainty. Whilst many of us may complain about the “bad” qualities of humans, especially in relation to customer service, at least we know who and what we are communicating with, highlighting the need for companies to make it clear if they are using AI agents or not. Many people appreciate human communication, and indeed, this is one of the most important aspects of customer service for companies which pride themselves on the friendliness, helpfulness and sparkle of their staff. It’s why many customers return. The personal human touch goes a long way. Both for customers and profit-makers alike.
Yet generative AI and technology blurs these delicate boundaries. In areas where there are serious human consequences, such as who should get state benefits or have their marriage license approved, the lack of human interaction, attentiveness and understanding of sensitive human issues creates an energy of resentment and frustration for the person at the receiving end of these decisions.
Picture this scenario: in older age would you like a personable and caring human being who has chosen, out of their own free will, to attend to you when you are at your most fragile? Or would you be content being cared for by a servient robot who is programmed, out of obligation, to fulfil your care and emotional needs? I know which one I would prefer and find more meaningful. I know which one I could relate to more, and which would provide me with more uplifting energy. I prefer real flowers to fake ones, and real human followers over fake robot accounts. Do you? And if so, do these details matter? Should they matter?
Human vs AI energy
Human energetics – basically the energy we get from being around and sharing experiences with other humans, whether that be doing something monotonous (e.g buying a coffee from your local barista), something social (e.g attending a party) or something obligatory (e.g meeting up with work colleagues) – has been an area of significant study for thousands of years. And for good reason.
Eastern practices, such as Tibetan Buddhism and Traditional Chinese Medicine, focus on how human energy is converted, utilised, and stored, and this has informed how we think, feel and behave around human energy. In the Age of AI technology will interfere with human energetics on a scale that we haven’t experienced as a species before. This is why our awareness of human energetics, and the study of the subject, is so important. At a time when religion (at least in the West) is in decline, it’s worth deeply considering how well AI and technology caters, or ought to cater, for the human mind, body, spirit and soul. To ignore this would be to dismiss humanity’s inherent value. It also ignores our inherent nature which is to connect with living things, whether that be other humans, animals, or nature.
This will sound a bit “woo woo” to some. But seemingly, a lot of people I know, and especially friends within my generation who can remember the days before technology became so engrained in our daily existence, are starting to assess their relationship – yes relationship, we are that attached to it! – to technology, what it gives them and what is leaves them longing for. The common complaint is that online life can often feel weightlessness; experiences are diluted in comparison to the real world. There is more choice, but less opportunity to offer our full attention to savour and appreciate things with the same care and consideration. Our ancestors never had the “optionality” of human experiences. It was either you lived your life, or you didn’t. What impact will living in-between two worlds – the virtual and the real – have on our concept of memories, relationships, and expectations of life?
I should say that this essay is not a pessimistic take on the state of humanity’s decision to outsource many things and experiences that would have previously been all human orientated. Rather, it is a reflection on what we could be missing out on, how that impacts our energy, our life experience as humans and what it does to our souls which are there to teach us important lessons during our lifetimes. Whatever impacts our energy impacts how we think and feel about the world and our existence within it. This is why we must, at all costs, do what we can to nourish it. But that also means we must be aware of the source of our nourishing.
Writer Enuma Okoro acknowledges that “there are living things that by their very existence are sources of nourishing life”. She points to the life-giving energy of nature; the source of life that we survive on. If you’ve ever felt that using technology depletes your energy, it’s because it doesn’t regenerate energy and life the way nature and humanity does and only nature and humanity can do. How does nature’s revitalising role fit into the story we are currently crafting about the future of AI and humanity?
We already know from scientific research that technology can, in some instances, be detrimental to human health. For example, and as explained in a recent podcast with Dr Andrew Huberman and Dr Michael Eisenberg, research has shown that men who frequently carry their phone on them have lower levels of testosterone levels and sperm count. If excessive use of technology can, and is having, this kind of physical impact on humans, what impact is generative AI having on humans on an energetic and spiritual level?
Whilst there are attempts by some companies to essentially “outsource” fundamentally human-centric behaviours and values to robots, such as enabling lonely men to pay to speak to AI girlfriends, instead of solving the “problem” (in this example, male loneliness), it is actually making the problem worse. No doubt the idea of buying a human quality in AI form that fulfils a very human-orientated need sounds convenient. But the reality is that the “service” will also feel superficial because it doesn’t have the same richness as the full human experience which is supposed to require effort as that is where meaning, growth and expansion comes from. Meanwhile, the AI equivalent leaves a person feeling spiritually short-changed in comparison to the full human experience. This emphasises the quality of life between humans with a very human-rich life and those who are increasingly relying on AI and technology to provide their basic human needs.
The third situation which got me grappling with the personal impact of AI was when I finished reading Matt Haig’s 2013 book, The Humans. The plot revolves around a math professor at Cambridge University (I thought this was a bit coincidental as I was a researcher in the law school last year!) whose body is taken over by an alien from planet Vonnadoria. His mission on planet Earth is to destroy the math conundrum that will start the chain reaction of events that will lead to the destruction of the human race and Universe. However, he soon finds himself changing his mind about the human race – no longer are they viewed as stupid, selfish and self-destructive, but instead interesting, caring, loving and contemplative – characteristics he doesn’t find from the life on his own planet. He has to travel and be present with humans on Earth, as opposed to hearing the criticism of the human race from a far away planet, before he realises the inherent worth, value and magic of humans.
Whilst this book was published a decade ago in 2013, it couldn’t be more relevant today. The message is still the same; the more we spend time with humans and living things, the more our energy expands and is revitalised. AI and technology is great, and has many uses, but it doesn’t provide the nourishing and sustaining energy we need as humans. If an alien from another planet can appreciate it, then so can we as the natural inhabitants of planet Earth.