The Merriam Webster dictionary defines “responsibility” as moral, legal, or mental accountability. Being responsible means taking ownership of your choices and actions.
Being responsible has forever been an admired and even expected trait of members of society. I believe that most of us want to be responsible and want other people to be responsible. It might feel uncomfortable and we might hesitate, but we do at times step forward and say, “That was my responsibility. I will take care of it.”
Unfortunately, our internet connectivity, overly helpful applications, and now AI are all encouraging the dilution of responsibility.
This has been bugging me for some time. But it really slammed me this morning when I got another of a swarm of text messages from my dentist reminding me of my appointment.
In the old days (a few years ago), I would be handed a small business card reminder of when my next appointment was scheduled. It was then my responsibility to show up. Now, I turn down the offer of the physical reminder because I know of the coming electronic swarm. It gets worse. Soon after one of the first reminders, I used to enter the appointment in my iPhone calendar. Now it’s come to the point where I don’t even do that because I know (or depend on) that there will be that last-minute reminder the day before. What if these electronic reminders stopped? I would miss my dentist appointment.
AI has taken a giant leap backward for mankind when it comes to responsibility. Take the story of a young woman who asked AI to take over managing her busy day. She was struggling with managing a part-time job, studying for her college courses and, of course, her social life. She then became dependent on AI’s every command. AI told her when and how long to spend on everything—eating, sleeping, studying for each course, and whom to socially spend time with and when.
Another example that I read about was a woman training for a marathon. She asked AI to design a proper training regimen, which she followed tooth and nail. At least in this case, she was more or less experimenting with what AI could offer. But what happens when this person performs well in the marathon and decides to use AI again for the next event. Now this person isn’t taking responsibility for her own training, but blindly following orders.
There is certainly a compelling argument for allowing a computer to run your life. It might make your life more efficient and could free you up to spend more time on the things that really matter (as long as AI agrees. LOL). It is important here to note the use of the word “allowing.” Yes, you are in control in that you could just turn it off. But, will you?
That’s my concern. What is life going to look like when everyone is allowing a computer to design their lives and is not taking responsibility for anything?
