When I was a postgraduate student at the University of Oxford in the early 2000s, I interviewed for a major consulting firm. All my friends were being recruited, and I thought why not give it a shot? Aside from the usual maths-proficiency test (how quickly can you crunch numbers in front of a client and look smart), I was asked about what the future of streaming could look like.
I gave a long-winded answer about the unintended consequences of changing how humans interact with each other when a new technology is introduced, and why this may not be in the best interests of health and society. I even remember saying something like: “Can you imagine just being stuck at home, alone, watching show after show and never having to move or see any other people? Why would anyone choose that over going out to rent a DVD at a local shop, or to a movie theatre?” You won’t be surprised to learn that I wasn’t invited for a follow-up interview.
The partner at the consulting firm thought my answer was completely wrong. They saw the potential growth and profitability of streaming – and you could say, in hindsight, they had a point: Netflix’s global revenue continues to rise year on year, reaching $12.6bn (£9.5bn) in 2026. My answer, on the other hand, focused on its societal and health consequences.
But if you look at the negative impact that excessive screen-time has had on health and wellbeing, especially on children, perhaps I wasn’t wrong after all. We know that social isolation is now widespread, anxiety and depression too, with sleep also negatively affected by how late we stay up watching content. And here I am, more than 20 years later, being asked to talk about AI and what it means for higher education, health and society at a conference at the University of Edinburgh, where I work as a professor.
I know many people would say: “It’s wonderful! Our lives will all get easier.” But we’re also moving closer to a world where we don’t have to see anyone, move anywhere or use our brains, seemingly at all. And again I think, wonderful for who?
Wonderful for the tech companies and those looking to cut costs by replacing humans with automation, but certainly not for the rest of us. There’s a comparison, for me, between the effects of streaming on our physical activity levels and health, and the probable effects of AI on our brains. The richer a country becomes, the more people move into non-manual labour, with sedentary activities in their free time.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
