A recent study explores the potential evolutionary consequences of artificial intelligence on humans, predicting changes in brain size, attention spans and social interactions.
Artificial intelligence is transforming our world in unprecedented ways, bringing convenience and advances but also raising profound questions about its long-term impact on humanity. A new paper authored by Rob Brooks and published in The Quarterly Review of Biology sheds light on the ways AI might steer human evolution. Titled “How Might Artificial Intelligence Influence Human Evolution?” the paper delves into the possible evolutionary impacts of our daily interactions with AI.
Rather than focusing on dramatic scenarios like human enslavement or annihilation by AI, Brooks takes a more gradual and scientific approach. He parallels the intricate dynamics between human-AI interactions and natural biotic relationships, such as those between predators and prey or hosts and parasites.
“The ways such interspecies interactions have shaped animal evolution, including human evolution, can provide some basis for predicting how AI might influence human evolution in the future,” Brooks noted.
The paper explores how human-AI interactions, often resembling social relationships between humans, have the potential to influence several aspects of our evolution. These interactions, he argues, could accelerate trends towards smaller human brains, shift selection pressures on attention spans, impact personality types and even affect susceptibilities to mood disorders.
Intriguingly, Brooks also examines how AI applications in matchmaking, virtual friendships and the criminal justice system might reshape human intimacy and social behaviors. He suggests that AI’s role in these areas could lead to evolutionary changes in how humans compete for mates and build intimacy.
While these potential shifts might seem speculative, they fit into broader patterns observed in natural selection, which has historically influenced all forms of life on Earth, including humans.
Despite these forward-looking insights, Brooks emphasizes the complexity and unpredictability of such evolutionary predictions.
“The direction and rate of evolution can be hard to predict even for organisms kept under controlled conditions,” he wrote. “Far more so the complexities of predicting selection and resulting evolution of humans in a fast-moving AI-rich world.”
The study acknowledges that while these evolutionary changes may alter gene frequencies and patterns of inheritance, the immediate effects on individual lives, well-being and cultural evolution are likely to be more pronounced. This reflects the dual nature of AI’s impact — both immediate and future-forward.