Essay Warns That Reliance on Technology Is Deskilling the Human Body
In a recent essay published in Aeon, a woman in her late 40s reflects on her habit of waking at 4 a.m. to check her phone, which she links to a deterioration of physical skills. She contends that the use of smartphones, GPS, and AI diminishes bodily capabilities, impairing spatial awareness, navigation, memory, and self-control. The piece draws parallels to historical perspectives of the body as a machine, referencing thinkers like René Descartes, Norbert Wiener, and Konrad Lorenz. It highlights research indicating that just one week of leg immobilization can lead to a 5% reduction in thigh muscle volume, while GPS reliance has been shown to negatively impact spatial memory. The author cautions that technologies mimicking agency are detrimental and emphasizes the importance of physical effort in fostering intelligence.
Key facts
- The essay was published by Aeon and is a 24-minute listen.
- The author is a woman in her late 40s who writes about her own habits.
- She argues that reliance on GPS may weaken spatial attention and wayfinding fluency.
- One study found that a single week of leg immobilisation can reduce thigh-muscle volume by about 5 per cent.
- A longitudinal study followed 13 GPS users over three years and found a steeper decline in spatial memory compared with controls.
- Research by Clara Colombatto, Jonathan Birch, and Stephen Fleming found that exposure to AI systems increases attributions of mental capacities to them.
- A study by Yaoxi Shi and others found that regular five-minute conversations with an AI on personal issues resulted in a small but meaningful decrease in preference for seeking human support.
- The essay cites Norbert Wiener's 1950 book The Human Use of Human Beings and Konrad Lorenz's 1981 The Foundations of Ethology.
Entities
Artists
- René Descartes
- Norbert Wiener
- Konrad Lorenz
- Clara Colombatto
- Jonathan Birch
- Stephen Fleming
- Yaoxi Shi
- Kent Berridge
Institutions
- Aeon