"For much of the world, technology has become so intertwined with our day-to-day lives that it influences everything. Our relationships, the care we seek, how we work, what we do to protect ourselves, even the things we choose to learn and when. It would be understandable to read this as a dystopian nightmare conjured up by E.M. Forster or Ernest Cline. Yet, we are on the verge of something fundamentally different. We've caught glimpses of a future that values autonomy, empathy, and individual expertise."
"In the coming year, we will begin the transition into a new era of AI in the human loop, not the other way around. This cycle will create massive opportunities to solve problems that truly matter. And it starts by addressing one of the unintended consequences of our hyperconnected world-loneliness and a lack of companionship-by turning the very force that created the problem into the solution."
Technology is deeply embedded in daily life, influencing relationships, care, work, safety, and learning. A new era is emerging where AI operates within human decision loops, prioritizing autonomy, empathy, and individual expertise alongside interdisciplinary collaboration. Loneliness has reached epidemic levels—affecting one in six people worldwide—and social isolation raises death risk by 32%, while loneliness increases dementia risk by 31% and stroke risk by 30%. The crisis is acute among older adults, with 43% of those aged 60 and older reporting loneliness and worse effects for those 80+. Converging aging demographics, advanced AI capabilities, and the loneliness epidemic create conditions to use technology to provide genuine emotional companionship.
Read at All Things Distributed
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