Mind to Machine: Are We Losing Our Memory to AI ?

Introduction:

The capacity of human brain is still unknown, Scientists are still working on it to fully understand it, if we look at the first genius human brain aging back to 1.8 Million years ago, called Homo Erectus, the brain was a bit larger than 600 ml (Prof. John Hawks, 2013). Over the period of time these species had a upward march in size and shape of the brain. The capacity increased upto 1000 ml or more as an average size among the species over 5,00,000 years ago. Todays human brain is similar to that of early homo sapiens ranging from 1200 ml or more, but there is a significant difference in the shape changes accommodating problem solving, depth of planning, and other complex cognitive functions. Let us understand what exactly our human brains are capable off?

The part of the brain most involved in daily activities, including remembering phone numbers, favorite songs, and other routines, is the prefrontal cortex (PFC), especially within the frontal lobe. Here’s a breakdown of how these processes work:

1. Prefrontal Cortex (PFC): The PFC, located at the front of the frontal lobes, is responsible for executive functions—such as planning, decision-making, and organizing. It also plays a key role in working memory, which helps you temporarily hold information (like a friend's phone number) for immediate use.

2. Hippocampus: Part of the limbic system, the hippocampus, located deep within the brain, is crucial for forming and retrieving long-term memories. It helps store facts, personal experiences, and learned information, like favorite songs or phone numbers you’ve memorized over time.

3. Temporal Lobes: These lobes, located near your temples, house areas responsible for processing auditory information and playing a role in long-term memory. They help you recall music, voices, and names, as well as recognize faces and sounds.

4. Basal Ganglia: This group of structures helps in forming habits and routines. It's involved in learned behaviors that don't require much conscious effort, like habitual tasks you perform daily.

Due to the population increase, technological enhancements and the need for services has increased parallely where people are working from home and ordering their needs from different mobile apps, delivery has increased very aggressively. Right now in December 2024, everything is on our fingertips, you can imagine anything and get delivered at your doorstep.

Where exactly i feel like people are losing to AI ?

A decade back that is somewhere between 2005 - 2010 & before 2005, people in general had a lot of memory, clarity towards what they are doing, at the same time people used to spend lot of time in enhancing their knowledge either by reading, writing, painting, sports and other physical activities, but now in the recent days people are spending more time on social media platforms, scrolling through memes, reels and something not important to their lives, this has raised concerns in few intellectuals and they have planned a time table to have a balanced life, where as most of the youngsters and teens they are just losing themselves to AI, losing their memories, creative side and also physical activities are coming to an end day by day. Few categories where people in general are losing their selves are as follows;

1. People used to remember more than 10 phone numbers of their friends and family and used to call them in public phones, and these phones were away from home and their used to be physical activity to access these devices, people used to be fit and active. Now with the advancements of technology, where technology is affordable to everyone, laziness and obesity is getting quite common among every age category.

2. All the favourite songs, albums, movies and dramas were being saved in a CD, Pendrive, or desktop and then access them when needed, here all i want to say is people used to remember their favourite songs and movies. With the technological advancements and AI into picture, all these songs and videos are like playing back to back according to your mood, time, location and many other factors involved in prediction modelling.
   

3. When it comes to shopping, people used to have clarity on what exactly they want, now with online shopping, offers people are getting confused on what they want, usually people end up in buying more stuff or nothing at all, human brains are being manipulated with coupon codes, offers, recommendation engines (Ex: people who bought this also purchased this and this).
   

4. Before the advent of Google Maps and other digital navigation tools, people relied on several methods to remember and navigate to locations:

   • People often used landmarks like buildings, trees, bridges, or statues to guide their way.

   • Directions were shared as, “Turn left at the big oak tree” or “It's near the red brick building.”

   • Road maps and atlases were essential for planning long journeys. Travelers studied maps in advance and sometimes wrote down key turns or intersections.

   • Directions were shared verbally or written down. People asked locals for guidance and depended on the accuracy of their descriptions.

   • Repeated visits to a location helped people create mental maps. The brain’s spatial memory was actively engaged to recall routes.

   • Mnemonics, rhymes, or visual cues were used to remember routes, especially for complex paths.
     

   The shift from active navigation to passive reliance on GPS highlights how technology can weaken skills we once honed through necessity.
   

5. How People Used to Read Books and Stories?

   1. Physical Books

      • Libraries, bookstores, and personal collections were central to accessing literature.

      • People cherished the tactile experience of holding a book and turning its pages.

   2. Dedicated Reading Time

      • Reading was a focused activity, often done in quiet moments like evenings or weekends, free from distractions.

      • Many had routines, such as reading before bed or while traveling.

   3. Storytelling Circles

      • Families and communities shared stories aloud, creating a social and interactive learning experience.

      • Folk tales, religious texts, and epics were often memorized and passed down.

   4. Journals and Magazines

      • Popular journals and magazines were sources of current affairs, serialized stories, and educational content.

      • Readers eagerly awaited new editions, savoring articles and features.

   5. Book Clubs and Literary Discussions

      • People formed reading groups to discuss books and share interpretations, fostering a sense of community and intellectual engagement.

   6. Personal Connection

      • Books were personal treasures. Marginalia, underlined quotes, and bookmarks often reflected intimate relationships with the content.

With the advancements of these technologies in our society there are areas where we (Humans) are losing ourselves to the AI, it is manipulating our brains and making us weak at few areas, the areas where i feel we are losing to AI are as follows;

Why People Now Struggle Without Google Maps ?

1. Over-Reliance on Technology

   • GPS devices have shifted the responsibility of navigation to apps, making people less engaged in remembering routes.

2. Lack of Spatial Awareness

   • Constant turn-by-turn navigation removes the need for understanding the broader geography of an area.

3. Reduced Use of Memory

   • With instant information available, people do not practice remembering directions or landmarks.

4. Dynamic Navigation

   • Apps reroute in real time for traffic or roadblocks, reducing the need for contingency planning by travelers.

The Shift to Social Media:

1. Instant Gratification

   • Social media provides quick dopamine hits through likes, comments, and endless scrolling, discouraging the patience required for long-form reading.

2. Shortened Attention Spans

   • Platforms favor bite-sized content (memes, short videos, tweets), making it harder for people to focus on lengthy narratives or in-depth articles.

3. Overload of Content

   • The sheer volume of content on social media creates decision fatigue, often pushing meaningful reading aside for quick consumption.

4. Displacement of Time

   • Time once spent on reading is now consumed by aimless browsing, leaving little room for deliberate learning or reflection.

5. Shifting Interests

   • The visual and interactive nature of social media competes with the mental effort required to engage deeply with text.

     
     

   • Loss of Deep Learning Reading books fosters critical thinking, empathy, and imagination, whereas shallow browsing often results in fragmented knowledge.

   • Decline in Patience People now expect instant results and struggle with tasks requiring prolonged concentration.

   • Reduced Emotional Connection Stories in books connect readers to characters and plots deeply, a quality often missing in ephemeral social media content.
     

How to Reignite our brains and make it sharper and stronger?

1. Create Dedicated Reading Time Set aside screen-free moments for reading daily or weekly.

2. Join Book Communities Online platforms like Goodreads or local book clubs can help rediscover the joy of shared reading.

3. Limit Social Media Use Use apps to track screen time and replace some of that time with reading.

4. Carry a Book Everywhere Having a book handy encourages reading in spare moments instead of scrolling.

5. Rediscover Libraries Visit libraries and bookstores to reconnect with the physical presence of books.

6. Read Short Stories or Articles Begin with shorter reads to rebuild the habit and gradually move to longer works.
   

   Solutions to Enhance Directional Memory:
   

7. Practice Navigating Without GPS: Try using landmarks and written directions.

8. Learn Map Reading: Familiarize yourself with paper maps or digital maps without active navigation.

9. Revisit Known Routes: Frequent visits to the same location reinforce memory.

10. Play Spatial Memory Games: Engage in activities that strengthen spatial reasoning and memory.
    

Summary:

The increasing reliance on AI for daily tasks is diminishing our brain’s natural abilities, such as memory, problem-solving, and creativity. Instant information from AI reduces the need to remember or critically think, while constant notifications shorten attention spans. Dependence on tools like GPS and chatbots weakens spatial reasoning and independent learning. To regain cognitive strength, we must actively engage in brain-stimulating activities like reading, problem-solving, and practicing memory techniques. Limiting AI use, embracing offline tasks, and nurturing habits like journaling and mindfulness can help rebuild focus, creativity, and self-reliance, allowing us to complement AI rather than lose ourselves to it.