EDITORIAL-The Forgotten Desire of Connection
- Allan Tompkins
- 7 days ago
- 3 min read
AI may be solving the very issue it’s said to have created.
By The Log Staff
Most of us have dealt with something like this: your friend or family member excitedly shows you this unbelievable video of animals doing very un-animal-like things to which you unfortunately have to break the news that it was never real to begin with. The mastermind behind it all? Artificial intelligence.
Since the release of ChatGPT on Nov. 30, 2022, AI has evolved from easily identifiable content to one causing genuine confusion over what’s real and fake.
A recent study done by an aged care and home care provider in Australia tasked participants to differentiate between real and AI-generated images. Out of over 3,000 participants, the average score was 71.1% while the score for those aged 65+ was 65.5%.
On top of that, Forbes reports that 71% of social media images are now AI-generated. At the exponential rate that it’s growing, people’s ability to distinguish reality from AI slop is likely to decrease as its prevalence on mainstream platforms increases.
However, this article isn’t meant to raise awareness or provide startling statistics on how people think AI is ruining humanity, as many articles have already done—rather, it argues the opposite. As big tech companies like NVIDIA and money-hungry investors constantly reaffirm AI as the future of modern civilization, its growth has almost been shoved in everyone’s face.
Even for those who would like to escape it, content algorithms on virtually every well-established platform, AI’s growth may just promote a growing desire for human connection.
This shift is already visible on the dating scene after 78% of dating app Gen Z users felt burnt out emotionally, mentally or physically. With the inauthenticity of these apps being one likely reason for this, a growing number of singles have sought real-world dating for a change.
Just as that artificial environment promoted a burnt-out state in users, AI’s growth can also remind individuals what it is to be human again.
Rather than spending hours of one's day asking "Is this AI?" by truly immersing oneself in the real world, people can stop viewing life in an investigative way and begin to accept relationships and connections with others whose existence they never have to question.
Aside from how it's evident in the dating world, another way people are showing signs of this technological shift is through a larger preference for physical media--especially among Gen Z. The UK's biggest vinyl packaging firm Key Production reported that 59% of 18-24-year-olds listen to physical music releases.
While one can argue this unusually strong desire for CDs, DVDs and vinyls in an age of streaming is driven by nostalgia, it can just as well be driven by a need to detox from the digital overload found on every screen. With new technologies, especially AI, that have just about infinite uses, resorting to one-purpose items offers Gen Zers with a form of escape and immersion that modern day technology has somewhat taken away.
Just as young audiences prefer simple, trustworthy designs as a result of digital overstimulation, AI has pronounced itself in such an strong way, that a preference for simple, trustworthy human connections is bound to be on the rise.
In a world of digitization where everything is a click away, people have forgotten what it means to have an authentic connection with another soul. Ultimately, what many believe is the cause of this loss may be counteracting its own purpose by once again reminding ourselves of what beauties the human mind can create when it isn’t relying on perfection.
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