AI + The New Human Frontier

CHAPTER 35Not All Change Is Fast, and Not Everything Is Changing

Change can happen quickly. But our ability to adapt to it can be slower paced. I liken it to going into an unheated swimming pool. You dip your toes into the water and adjust to the initial chill. Then you slowly inch your way in, letting each layer of your body acclimate to the temperature of the water. Little by little. Now picture being tossed into a turbulent icy river. The shock would overcome you. This metaphor illustrates how humans deal with change and adaptation. We are naturally equipped to adapt gradually, much like easing into a cold swimming pool. But when change comes quickly, like the rush of an icy river, our capacity to adapt is tested. Our neural wiring is built for slower-paced adaptations. This cognitive process served us well in the past when changes were gradual and predictable, but it can be at odds with today's fast-paced changes. How do we safeguard against paralysis? How can we ensure that the rapid changes don't leave us incapable of action? Perhaps we need to give ourselves the chance to progressively adjust to insulate ourselves against the shock of an “icy river.”

Is gradualism, therefore, an antiquated concept? According to Tristan Harris, cofounder and executive director of the Center for Humane Technology, “Technology has outmatched our brains and therefore diminished our capacity to address the world's most pressing challenges.” Essentially, our brains, which have evolved over ...