This Holiday Season, Did The Gift of AI Make You Happier?

In all the excitement around artificial intelligence, we sometimes forget to ask ourselves: are we better off thanks to these AI developments? We are surrounded by technology that should make it easier to connect and create—and still, we are experiencing an "epidemic of loneliness." AI ethics covers topics like model bias, explainability, and IP; how about the impact on our social fabric?

Why focus on AI when there are so many other digital capabilities that also impact mental wellbeing? One of AI's major applications is to reduce friction—to make accomplishing a task easier. This is not limited to Generative AI (GenAI) composing Christmas poems or summarising annual reports; think of AI recommendation engines or AI autocompletion. These tools can drive significant efficiencies in business, saving time, improving productivity, and reducing costs.

Yet, these AI capabilities are not limited to our professional lives. Our personal experiences are also being shaped by these technologies—with unintended second- and third-order effects on our relationships. Consider these three examples, some of which you might also have observed this holiday season.

#1 AI is Increasingly Mediating Our Social Interactions

Platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn have always had a performative element. Like picking your coolest toy to bring to "show and tell," people tend to present the rosiest picture of their life and career. Still, in the beginning, at least it was their life. Today, what percentage of photos on Instagram have not been retouched with apps like Facetune? How many shared "photos" are actually Midjourney renders? And thanks to Google's Veo 2, even AI videos look real.

The other factor here is the proliferation of embedded AI tools. Why has LinkedIn content become so tedious? One can imagine their "AI-powered writing tool" having something to do with it. The impact of these frictionless tools is insidious—at least copy-pasting from ChatGPT took a bit of effort. Now the quickest route to posting is to let AI do it for you. Step by step, what we share online has become less personal—until one day soon the majority might be AI generated.

Just imagine, how long before WhatsApp introduces an AI-composing function? And to help manage those social obligations during the holiday season, an auto-reply function to keep well-meaning family members off one's back?

"If I have not replied to aunt Sally in two days, send her a short response, mentioning my appreciation for Antiques Roadshow. If today is a Sunday, attach a recent family photo and tell her we miss her. Avoid vegetable emojis."

AI solution vendors love talking about the benefits of agentic AI, but there is a depressing scenario where connecting with loved ones becomes messaging their AI agents. Mind you, in this case, at least there is interaction. Some people are opting out of social engagements entirely, which leads us to:

#2 It is Too Easy to Consume Content on Screens

This Christmas, friends mentioned that while they had initially planned to attend a local community event, they decided to stay in and watch Netflix. Similarly, how many parents will have seen their kids this holiday curled up on the sofa, devouring TikTok videos for hours on end? In the streaming era, there is no need to buy a DVD or wait for your favourite show to come on the television—you can dive in at any time. And once in, these products are built to keep you there.

While one can argue humans have agency and should be able to make the right decisions for themselves, we know this is not always the case. From staying up late to catch "one more episode," through to doomscrolling and obsessing about capturing the perfect video for Instagram or TikTok, few of us have a healthy relationship with our devices. The numbers are staggering: Gallup last year found that U.S. teens spend nearly five hours on social media each day on average.

If people were consuming content that made them more empathic, more educated, and more contented, that would be another thing. Sadly, the trend seems to be going in the opposite direction, and this is in part driven by:

#3 From Human to Algorithmic Creation and Curation

Democratising access to information was a core promise of the World Wide Web. While this ambition has arguably been achieved, we have seen a trend of quantity overshadowing quality. Consider Microsoft's MSN and Apple News, which receive billions of visits and rely on AI for curation. Recently, the latter's top article was an analysis of which Hollywood celebrity had the most expensive plastic surgery, while the former was filled with AI generated click-bait.

Were content curated by scrupulous humans, readers could be shielded from this, like a newspaper editor refusing to print rumours and rubbish. However, with AI algorithms used both to create and curate, we are seeing a flight from quality. As models are optimising for click-through rates, articles that shock, polarise, and titillate are growing in prevalence, leaving thoughtful analyses to fall by the wayside. The rise of GenAI is supercharging this trend—with no end in sight.

Far from trying to fight it, companies have embraced this enshittification. Whereas they initially wanted to produce award-winning content, Netflix's creatives have fallen prey to their viewership algorithms, quality be damned. They are apparently so resigned to disengaged viewers that they are asking their scriptwriters to now have characters "announce what they’re doing so that viewers who have this program on in the background can follow along."

The bottom line: people are experiencing fewer meaningful social interactions, choosing instead to consume AI created and curated content of a limited prosocial benefit, resulting in worsened mental health and weakened social ties.

How We Can Fix It

Clearly this a complex and multifaceted issue—but addressing it is critical if we care about our communities and our society at large. This needs to be a multi-pronged effort involving individuals, platforms, and regulators.

On an individual level, we need to discourage the use of AI-generated text in human interactions—how charming is an AI-generated birthday card, really? We should be mindful of how often we choose screen time over face time, and if we do choose to consume content, we need to celebrate and encourage human curation as an essential counterweight to these soulless AI algorithms. In other words, avoid Netflix's "Play Something" button. It might as well read: "I Give Up."

When it comes to platforms, thoughtful product design would go a long way. They should encourage human input, deprioritising AI-generated content. To promote mindful engagement, they could incorporate time limits, eliminate infinite scroll in favour of pagination, and introduce "reflection moments" prompting users to consider their intentions. Finally, they need to invest in human curation instead of algorithmic clickbait; advertisers could add pressure here.

While regulation is a challenging and contested topic—e.g. how do we balance innovation with good governance—there is no doubt regulators have a role to play. That said, this requires a lot more discussion and careful consideration. Fundamentally, the protean nature of AI technologies, coupled with the novelty of their related risks means we have limited frameworks and precedents to draw on. Simply put, how can you effectively regulate what you do not fully understand?

Ultimately, building healthier relationships with AI capabilities will require a cultural shift as much as a technological one. As AI continues to advance, we will need to be more intentional in how we incorporate AI into our lives. By increasing friction at key points, we can harness AI's efficiency gains without sacrificing the human interactions that are vital to our individual and collective well-being.

The path forward is not frictionless, but if you were looking for another resolution: there it is. Happy New Year. We have much to do.

— Ryan

Cover photo by Sandeep Singh