Can AI Help Us Connect With the Real World?

In recent years, technology has increasingly disconnected us from the world and each other. Smartphones, apps, and social media consume our attention and often lead to disinformation, radicalization, and social disharmony. However, while technology may be responsible for this disconnection, artificial intelligence (AI) could offer a solution to help us reconnect with the physical world.

One consequence of this dematerialization is a loss of gratification - the sensory enchantment of everyday life. Tiny acts like tearing a paper towel or feeling the texture of concert tickets have become automated and dematerialized. Generative AI, like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini, is further contributing to this dematerialization by automating tasks that were once done by hand, such as writing emails and planning trips.

As a technology critic and creator, the author expresses concern that AI might destroy the gratifying experience of doing creative work. However, they also argue that AI can help us reconnect with the real, physical world. By providing practical advice, such as identifying and repairing a leaky sprinkler system, AI can guide us back to tangible tasks and offer gratification through discovery and problem-solving.

Instead of pulling us further into the attention-sink of social media, AI-driven advice in areas like diet and fitness can encourage us to focus on non-computer activities. AI's efficiency and ability to process information, such as photos of broken parts, may reduce the distractions of smartphone life, allowing us to engage more fully in our physical surroundings with others and different tools.

While the future of AI remains uncertain, there is potential for it to help restore some of the lost physical connectivity with the world outside our phones and recapture the gratification we once experienced in daily life.