7 AI-Induced Epidemics of the Modern Age
The future of ailments brought to you by our synthetic overlords ;-) … here are some potential AI-induced maladies to look forward to:
- Algorithm Anxiety: A mental disorder characterized by constant worry that an algorithm is secretly judging you. Every decision and every search query is scrutinized. Descartes might have said, “I think, therefore I am,” but here it’s more like, “I search, therefore I panic.”
- Data Deficiency Disorder (DDD): A condition where individuals become incapable of making decisions without consulting AI. Socrates once claimed, “The unexamined life is not worth living,” but this is more like, “The unprocessed data is not worth having.”
- Synthetic Sentiment Syndrome: A phenomenon where humans start emulating AI emotional responses, leading to the strange inability to experience genuine feelings. As Nietzsche said, “He who fights with AI should be careful lest he become AI.”
- Virtual Reality Vertigo: Not just the physical dizziness from VR headsets, but deeper existential dizziness from living in multiple realities. Kantian problems about the nature of reality will seem quaint when you’re unsure if your breakfast was real.
- Predictive Poltergeist Phenomenon: The eerie sensation that AI predictions are haunting you, leading to paranoia about your future actions. It’s like Freud’s uncanny but with a dash of machine learning — the uncanny valley of your mind.
- Echo Chamber Exposure: A social disease where prolonged AI-curated content loops make it impossible to encounter opposing viewpoints. It’s like being stuck in Plato’s cave, but the shadows are all memes you agree with.
- Upload Uncertainty: The dread that your consciousness might develop a glitch if uploaded to a digital realm. Imagine Rousseau’s “Man is born free, and everywhere he is in chains,” updated to “Consciousness is uploaded free, and everywhere it is in bugs.”
In the age of artificial intelligence, our greatest maladies may not be viruses of the body but afflictions of the mind and soul as we grapple with the profound implications of our own creations.
Remember, every era brings its plagues. The ancient Greeks had their plagues, the Middle Ages had the Black Death, and the digital age might bring about a rash of AI-induced existential crises.
Enjoy the ride!
More thought-provoking thoughts:
MINDFUL AI: Reflections on Artificial Intelligence
Thought-Provoking Quotes & Reflections on Artificial Intelligence
New Book Release: Beyond the Algorithm: An Attempt to Honor the Human Mind in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (Wittgenstein Reloaded)
Deutsche Ausgabe: Jenseits des Algorithmus: Ein Versuch, den menschlichen Geist im Zeitalter der künstlichen Intelligenz zu würdigen (Wittgenstein Reloaded)
