Navigating Change and Identity in the Age of AI Disruption

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“It is an odd reality of being human that we are always changing, yet we dislike change. Especially too much, too fast.”

-Giles Crouch

We don’t have to look far to find headlines citing the impending and continuous changes coming alongside AI implementation. From business operations to creative works to medical practices, the AI disruption shows no sign of slowing.

But if we look at history—and even further back—human identity evolving with technology isn’t anything new.  

I discuss: 

  • Evolution of human identity in the digital age
  • Navigating the river of life: mental health and change
  • Proactive response to AI disruption and future possibilities

Evolution of human identity in the digital age

Evolution of human identity in the digital age

Recently, a good friend and colleague, CB Bowman, sent me an article from Medium.com titled “Human Identity in the Digital Age” by Giles Crouch from Canada, a digital anthropologist. 

Until I read this article, I was not aware of his amazing work. He speaks about how our identity of being human evolves with technology.

Technology is the application of knowledge for practical purposes, and it has a long, long, long history—or, better said, prehistory even, as it was before we developed writing, before we have records. 

Even in the prehistoric times, we were already using technology. Think about the Stone Age, the Paleolithic, we were already using stone tools to hunt and gather. That’s technology. Our identity and the way we recount history changes and is marked by technological evolution.

Let's fast forward to the present, to modern times—our biographic memories. I'm not sure about your age, but I remember when we started with the World Wide Web, emails, the digital world, social media, mobile phones, smartphones, etc. Our day-to-day and our identities shifted with each innovation—what phone do we have? Are we an Apple person or an Android person? Do we prefer Macs or PCs? 

Today, in a city, it’s rare to meet someone without a smartphone in their pocket, hand, or bag. It’s become—in rather a short amount of time—linked tightly to social expectations and relationship building. 

Our identity is connected with technology in interesting ways and keeps evolving. With the AI disruption, change accelerates even more.

Navigating the river of life: mental health and change

Navigating the river of life mental health and change

Giles Crouch has a beautiful quote in his article that explains the constant flux of human identity: “It is an odd reality of being human that we are always changing, yet we dislike change. Especially too much, too fast.”

That sums up a sizable portion of human strife. We long for change and novelty, but also cling to the familiar. We want to experience new and exciting environments, but we also want to stay put where we know what to expect. 

The quote reminds me of my days in Spain, during my master’s program in psychotherapy. One of my teachers spoke about the power of a metaphor regarding psychological health. 

He was describing psychological health as navigating the river of life, avoiding the banks of rigidity on one side and the banks of constant and unstable change on the other.

The ideal spot is to pass between the two banks, sailing with the balance between routine and change, never drifting into rigidity or instability for too long at a time.

On the rigidity side, think of OCD, where people have to do things in a very specific order, all the time, every time. Or even think about if you have a perfectionist tendency. Either one can limit our options in life. 

On the changeable side, we don’t want to be only there, either—think of schizophrenia, a disconnect from reality and identity, or ADHD, where it’s difficult to keep focus while learning something, doing a task, or performing a job. 

Between these two extremes—too much rigidity on one side and too much change on the other—lies our mental wellness and well-being. The ability to navigate that dynamic middle contributes to our overall mental health.

Proactive response to AI disruption and future possibilities

Proactive response to AI disruption and future possibilities

AI is not as new as some would like to believe. If you’ve ever spoken to Alexa or Siri, you’ve used AI. It’s only recently, with the rise of software such as ChatGPT and other generative AI tools, that people have begun to realize the far-reaching applications of this technology.

The speed of change can be disconcerting, but we have the power to control our responses to that change and moderate how we adopt technology, when we adopt it, and why. 

We can leverage AI to enhance our human experience, not replace it—to free us up to practice our values and achieve more of our goals. We can choose to respond proactively. 

If you’re familiar with my work, you’ll know what I mean by pressing the pause button to respond instead of reacting. Using the PIE Method is an excellent tool for navigating AI disruption and avoiding getting caught up in the current of fear and uncertainty or even burnout.

How are you navigating the tsunami of new AI tools? Do you share the concerns many have about AI?Be sure to check out my full episode for further discussion!