Mindful Ways to Hold onto Your Humanity and Avoid Becoming a Bot

Have you noticed how much friendlier bots are getting?

I appreciate the warm, patient tone of AAA’s robot as it connects me with a person who can jump-start my car. Sometimes, though, I really need a human to help me address problems not covered in an algorithm’s script.

In developmental psychology, bidirectional influence refers to the simultaneous influence parents and their children influence each other.

I think a similar exchange exists between people and our technological tools.

I’m not sure if humans are getting more efficient, but we seem to be losing ground in some of the traits that define our humanity.

Mindfulness cultivates skills machines can never master.

Measuring the impact of contemplative practices will always be more qualitative than quantitative.

But I can’t think of anything more important to prioritize than holding onto what distinguishes us from our machines.

Savor pleasant moments

Bots don’t have preferences. They have programs.

We can practice attending to comfortable sensations in a way that allows comfortable situations to feel even richer and more satisfying.

Call off the battle with unpleasant moments

Bots process information, but it’s not possible for them to feel frustrated by the process or the outcomes.

We can practice eroding our resistance to physical discomfort, unpleasant emotions, and uncertainty.

It doesn’t sound very appealing, but as Sigmund Freud observed, “One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.”

Update your default settings

Bots are at the mercy of their programming.

We can pay attention to how our patterns of behavior make us feel. It’s not quick or easy, but we can work to change our behaviors in order to experience different results.

Recognize our shared humanity

Bots aren’t capable of kindness or empathy.

It’s easy for us to get carried away by dramas playing out in our world, but we’re equipped to listen, consider another person’s perspective, and identify common ground.

We have to practice shifting our attention from our surface-level differences to the messy shared humanity underneath.