Artificial Intelligence vs. Social Intelligence: Who’s Leading?
In an era where machines are designed to think, and humans often settle for observation, the very nature of intelligence is being redefined. The rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has overshadowed other forms of intelligence, with concepts like social intelligence fading from everyday discourse. While we celebrate technological advancements, it’s crucial to seriously question whether AI poses a threat to our minds and social awareness. This is the core argument presented by writer and critic, Mohamed Kharrat.
The Diminishing Role of Human Thought
Our reliance on AI has become nearly absolute. We no longer search, analyze, or question as we once did; instead, we ask the machine, and it responds. This poses a real danger: when minds cease to think, humanity loses its meaning. Today, there’s little difference between the intelligent and the ignorant, the educated and the uneducated, because the tool is the same, and information is available to all. Every piece of information is at our fingertips, yet few people truly reflect on what they read or hear. The new generation has grown up in a world where it doesn’t need to question or discover but only type a simple command into a search engine.
This has led to a decline in various thinking skills and a shrinking space for self-expression. The mind relies on borrowed intelligence, losing its capacity for natural intellectual production. This is the most critical moment in modern human history: when AI transitions from a tool to an authority, from a servant to a leader. The machine today not only executes commands but also learns, infers, and decides, and perhaps soon, it will think independently of humans.
The Dual Nature of Technological Advancement
It is a massive revolution, but it’s also a double-edged sword that can elevate human awareness or completely empty it. The greatest danger isn’t the advancement of the machine but the decline of humans in its presence, as they relinquish their curiosity, feelings, intuition, and conscience. Then, the machine won’t be a threat because it’s strong, but because we’ve become weak in its face.
The reflection of this decline in social intelligence is evident in the details of our daily lives. Conversations are no longer based on understanding or listening but on the speed of response and the number of followers. AI has integrated into social media platforms, forming an alternative digital identity and producing a new generation of influencers who create virtual characters that don’t resemble them, reflecting an ideal image far removed from their reality.
The Erosion of Human Identity
This separation between thinking and intelligence based on science, culture, and machine-based thinking has made communication more superficial, feelings more artificial, and success tied to views rather than values. Thus, human identity has begun to fade in a space of manufactured images and content, with influence becoming a profession devoid of humanity.
The greatest danger, however, doesn’t stop at the limits of mental intelligence but extends to social intelligence, the one that keeps human relationships alive and warm. Communication today no longer relies on feelings or intuition but on digital symbols and cold messages devoid of body language and tone of voice. Over time, people’s ability to read situations, empathize, and understand others has declined. We have become more connected, but we understand each other less.
The Battle for Human Essence
Social intelligence is what distinguishes humans from machines. It’s what makes them capable of building relationships, reading between the lines, and acting with a human sense that cannot be programmed. Therefore, our real battle isn’t between humans and AI, but between social intelligence and artificial intelligence. If the former surrenders to the latter, we’ll become smarter than ever, but at the same time, less human than ever.
The challenge lies not in the increasing intelligence of machines but in our failure to utilize our human intelligence. As Mohamed Kharrat points out, the future of humanity hinges on our ability to prioritize and cultivate our social and emotional intelligence in the face of rapidly evolving AI.
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