Elon University: Being Human in 2035 – How Are We Changing in the Age of AI?

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This Elon University Imagining the Digital Future Center report compiles insights from a non-scientific canvassing of technology pioneers, builders, and analysts regarding the potential shifts in human capacities and behaviors by 2035 due to advanced AI. Experts anticipate blurred boundaries between reality and fiction, human and artificial intelligence, and human and synthetic creations, alongside concerns about eroding individual identity, autonomy, and critical thinking skills.

The report explores both optimistic visions of AI augmenting human potential and creativity and pessimistic scenarios involving increased dependence, social division, and the erosion of essential human qualities like empathy and moral judgment. Ultimately, it highlights the critical need for ethical development, regulation, and education to navigate the profound societal changes anticipated in the coming decade.

• A significant majority of experts anticipate deep and meaningful or even fundamental and revolutionary change in people’s native operating systems and operations as humans broadly adapt to and use advanced AI by 2035.

• Experts predict mostly negative changes in several core human traits and behaviors by 2035, including social and emotional intelligence, the capacity for deep thinking, trust in shared values, empathy, mental well-being, sense of agency, and sense of identity and purpose.

• Conversely, pluralities of experts expect mostly positive changes in human curiosity and capacity to learn, decision-making and problem-solving abilities, and innovative thinking and creativity due to interactions with AI.

• Many experts express concern about the potential for AI to be used in ways that de-augment humanity, serving the interests of tool builders and those in power, potentially leading to a global sociotechnical dystopia. However, they also see the potential for AI to augment human intelligence and bring about universal enlightenment if the direction of development changes.

• The experts underscore the critical importance of how humans choose to integrate AI into their lives and societies. They emphasize the need for ethical considerations, human-centered design, the establishment of human values in AI development and policy, and the preservation of human agency to ensure AI serves humanity's flourishing rather than diminishing essential human capacities.