When the Cave Becomes Home

Authors

  • Carin Knoop Executive Director at Harvard Business School, Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA. Co - founder of Human Sustainability Inside Out (HSIO), USA 0000-0002-1732-3151
  • Michael Stanley Tufts Medical Center, Department of Neurology, Division of Neurocognitive, Boston, MA, USA 0000-0003-2938-9518
  • Antonio Sadarić BUFFED Consulting, Zagreb, Croatia 0000-0003-2246-6584
  • David Morrison Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Chicago. USA Past President of Medical School Academy of Organizational and Occupational Psychiatry. CEO, Morrison Associates, Ltd. USA 0009-0002-7174-6742

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7336/academicus.2024.30.02

Abstract

This paper explores the intersection of human psychology and advanced technology, focusing on how intelligent and emotive technology influences human behavior and emotional intelligence, and in the process, might impact our ability to show and feel empathy. Based in Alfred Adler’s theory of human motivation, we examine how feelings of inferiority — vulnerability, powerlessness, perfectibility, and the need for affiliation — drive our increasing dependence on technology. The human tendency to treat inanimate objects as animate is heightened by the sophisticated communication capabilities of Generative AI (Gen AI), altering our interpersonal dynamics and communication signals. We analyze how this shift impacts empathy, self-centeredness, and impatience, suggesting a need for conscious awareness of technology’s limitations to preserve genuine human connections. By conducting a “technology dependency audit,” we encourage individuals to reflect on the extent to which their lives are mediated by technology. Ultimately, the paper argues for reclaiming our emotional and practical autonomy from technology to maintain authentic human relationships and emotional well-being. 

Keywords:

GenAI, empathy, emotional intelligence, social psychology, human-machine interaction, Alfred Adler,

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

  1. Adler, A. (1974). Praxis und Theorie der Individualpsychologie (1930). Fischer, Frankfurt. (APA)

  2. Asada, M. (2015). Development of artificial empathy. Neuroscience research, 90, 41-50.

  3. Belk, R. (2022). Artificial emotions and love and sex doll service workers. Journal of Service Research, 25(4), 521-536.

  4. Bridle, J. (2018). New dark age: Technology and the end of the future. Verso Books.

  5. Dahmani, L., & Bohbot, V. D. (2020). Habitual use of GPS negatively impacts spatial memory during self-guided navigation. Scientific reports, 10(1), 6310.

  6. Donovan, N. J., & Blazer, D. (2020). Social isolation and loneliness in older adults: review and commentary of a national academies report. The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 28(12), 1233-1244.

  7. Kirby, M. (2021). Pornography and its impact on the sexual health of men. Trends in Urology & Men’s Health, 12(2), 6-10.

  8. Maguire, E. A., Gadian, D. G., Johnsrude, I. S., Good, C. D., Ashburner, J., Frackowiak, R. S., & Frith, C. D. (2000). Navigation-related structural change in the hippocampi of taxi drivers. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 97(8), 4398-4403.

  9. Nasrallah, H. A. (2023). Is the contemporary mental health crisis among youth due to DMN disruption? Current Psychiatry, 22(6).

  10. Norretranders, T. (1999). The user illusion: Cutting consciousness down to size. Penguin.

  11. Bailenson, J. N. (2021). How video conferencing technology reshapes face-to-face communication: A review. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 30(4), 322-327. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214211009300.

  12. Borotschnig, Hermann. (2024). Emotions in Artificial Intelligence.

  13. Burr, C., Cristianini, N., & Ladyman, J. (2020). Emotions and Digital Well-Being: On Social Media’s Emotional Affordances. Philosophy & Technology, 33, 193–214. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13347-020-00400-1.

  14. Massey, C., & Others. (2024). Co-Intelligence: How to Live and Work with AI. Journal of Organizational Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-024-09709-9.

  15. Reinecke, L., Meier, A., Beutel, M. E., Schemer, C., Stark, B., & Wölfling, K. (2021). Digital Emotion Regulation: Multitasking, Online Media, and Affective Well-Being. Communication Research, 48(2), 207-235. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502211052474.

  16. Byrne, Ciara. (2019, Feb 11.) Can talking to robots combat a growing mental health crisis? https://www.fastcompany.com/90299135/mental-health-crisis-robots-chatbots-listeners

  17. Duhigg, C. (2019, July 15). The real roots of American rage. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/01/charles-duhigg-american-anger/576424/

  18. Guardian News and Media. (2023, March 16). The stupidity of ai. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/16/the-stupidity-of-ai-artificial-intelligence-dall-e-chatgpt

  19. Klein, J. (2022, May 6). Why people behave badly on dating apps. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220505-why-people-behave-badly-on-dating-apps

  20. Online dating application market size & share report, 2030. Online Dating Application Market Size & Share Report, 2030. (n.d.). https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/online-dating-application-market-report

  21. Sardis, B. (2023, November 13). Companion robots for seniors. Vibrant Aging Insider. https://vibrantaginginsider.com/technology/companion-robots-for-seniors/

  22. Stanley, Michael. Opinion | what it means to be alive - The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/01/05/what-it-means-be-alive

Downloads

Published

2024-07-11

How to Cite

Knoop, C., Stanley, M., Sadarić, A. and Morrison, D. (2024) “When the Cave Becomes Home”, Academicus International Scientific Journal. Vlora, Albania, 15(30), pp. 20–38. doi: 10.7336/academicus.2024.30.02.

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 30 (2024): Academicus

Section

Articles

License

License

Creative Commons License

All articles content of this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons License of
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC