Can AI improve EQ?

I am reading a lot about the potential pros and cons of Artificial Intelligence (AI) these days.  And while I don’t have any particularly strong views on AI, I have a curiosity.  One of the key benefits that are touted by the advocates for AI is the ability to automate mundane, repetitive tasks and therefore free up humans to be able to focus on other things. If this is the case my logical brain tells me that we should therefore be freed up and have more time.  This is where the curiosity comes in, “what do we do with this extra time?”

The internet tells us that we are more connected than at any other time in history with the advent of technology and communications.  Having delivered online workshops to people in multiple countries at the same time, I can’t argue with this notion. However, based on my observations from working and living directly with other humans of all ages this is most certainly not directly translating to feeling more “connection”.  Just the other day during a workshop with teenagers I heard one young person say “I feel like I am the only one experiencing this, sometimes I just feel so alone.

As humans, I believe that we are built for connection.  Our hardware and software are designed largely for this purpose.  From our ability to handshake, hug and kiss through to the flood of oxytocin and dopamine we receive when we experience deep connection, love or pleasure it is biologically and physically what we were meant to do.  What I hear across the board from people from all walks of life is a sense of loneliness or disconnection despite how “connected” we are.

In my opinion, this can be attributed to the fundamental need we have to spend time immersed in each other’s presence in a physical sense.  There is a certain energy and “felt” sense when you connect with another human being through conversation and face-to-face interactions.  And while we can create a sense of connection through a screen in my experience it is simply not the same.

So back to the question,  “what do we do with this extra time?”.  In my mind, if our time can be freed up by the automation of repetitive tasks we should therefore have more time to spend in the presence of other humans, doing what we were meant to do - connect. 

So whether we are for or against AI, we have an opportunity to make a choice on how we use it and reframe the benefits for ourselves.  Developing further skills and experience in our Emotional Intelligence (EQ) can only be done in the company of other humans.  For it is by interacting with others that we become more aware of ourselves and how we experience and interact with others.  We learn to regulate our feelings and emotions through practising human interaction.

Artificial Intelligence cannot replace our basic need to connect with others, to develop our human skills of communication, emotional intelligence, empathy, creativity, teamwork and leadership but perhaps it can provide an opportunity for us to be able to evolve our relationship with self and others by providing more space and time to do what we were designed to do.