'Father of the Internet' warns: Humans are so dependent on AI that they may lose their own autonomy

While the top minds in the field of AI are working hard to find ways to help this technology think more and more like humans, at Elon University (USA), a group of researchers chose to go against the flow of thinking: Is AI changing the way humans think?

This question is not just an academic curiosity, but comes with a sobering warning, many technology experts worry that AI could erode core skills that make up human nature such as empathy, critical thinking and the ability to make independent decisions.

“I am concerned that a minority will continue to reap the overwhelming benefits of these tools, while the majority of people will lose their ability to act, to be creative, to make decisions, to essential skills, to AI systems that are still very early,” warns Elon University futurist John Smart.

Those concerns arise amid a dizzying race to develop and deploy AI, attracting billions of dollars in investment and interest from governments around the world, with both hope and skepticism.

Tech giants like Google, Microsoft and Meta are betting their business futures on the belief that AI will reshape every aspect of modern life from work, communication, to the way people access information.

They are rushing to develop “AI agents,” tools that can perform tasks on behalf of humans. But experts in the report warn that this development could make humans so dependent on AI that they lose their ability to be autonomous.

AI is driving a wave of profound change, raising a host of questions about human adaptability: Are we prepared for the risk of job loss? Could AI-generated misinformation erode trust in the truth?

Elon University’s report continues to cast doubt on tech giants’ promise that AI will free humans from repetitive tasks and allow them to focus on creativity and deeper thinking. Is this an ideal future or just a marketing fantasy?

The Elon University report also follows research published this year by Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University (USA) that found that the use of generative AI tools can negatively impact critical thinking skills.

AI creates fundamental, revolutionary change

In an effort to understand the long-term impact of AI on human society, researchers at Elon University conducted an extensive survey of 301 experts, including leading technology leaders, analysts, and academics.

Among them are famous names such as Vint Cerf - one of the "fathers of the Internet" and currently Vice President of Google; Jonathan Grudin - Professor at the University of Washington School of Information and former senior leader at Microsoft; Charlie Firestone - former Executive Vice President of the Aspen Institute; and Tracey Follows - futurist and CEO of strategy consulting firm Futuremade (UK).

Nearly 200 participants contributed thoughtful essays that form the core of the report. More than 60% of respondents believe that AI will change human capabilities in “profound and meaningful” or even “revolutionary” ways within the next decade.

However, the outlook for the direction of this change is not entirely optimistic, with half of respondents believing that the impact of AI will be both positive and negative, 23% believing it will be mostly negative, and only 16% believing in a mostly bright future brought by AI.

Notably, experts predict that by 2035, AI could have a primarily negative impact on 12 core human traits, including: emotional and social intelligence, empathy, deep thinking, moral judgment, and mental health.

Humans' increasing reliance on AI, whether for research, decision-making or building relationships for convenience, may inadvertently erode these important skills.

According to the report, declining capacities in these areas are not only personal problems, but can also lead to serious societal consequences such as deeper polarization, increased inequality and a decline in people's ability to act independently.

However, there are still bright spots in the future picture, according to which three areas are expected to have positive development under the impact of AI: the ability to learn and be curious about knowledge, creative and innovative thinking, and decision-making and problem-solving skills.

In fact, even current AI tools have demonstrated the ability to assist in creating works of art or solving programming problems, abilities that are inherently tied to imagination and analytical thinking.

Many experts agree that while AI may replace some traditional jobs, it will also open up entirely new career opportunities that we have never imagined before.

The Evolution of AI

One of the prominent concerns detailed in the Elon University report revolves around how humans will integrate AI into their daily lives by 2035 and how that will change us.

Vint Cerf predicts that we will soon rely on AI agents, digital assistants that can act independently, performing tasks ranging from small tasks like taking meeting notes and making dinner reservations, to more complex tasks like negotiating contracts or writing code.

In fact, tech giants have already started this wave, with Amazon claiming an improved version of Alexa can order groceries for you, while Meta is deploying AI agents to serve customers, helping businesses respond directly on social media platforms.

Such tools, undeniably, bring convenience, freeing people from time-consuming tasks, and at the same time supporting efficiency in fields such as medical research.

But Cerf warns that the downside of convenience is the risk of over-reliance on technological systems that can still fail. “You can imagine the downsides of all of this. For example, none of this works without electricity, right?” he said in an interview with CNN. “That dependency is great… but only when it works. When it doesn’t, the consequences can be very serious.”

Cerf also stressed the need for a clear distinction between humans and chatbots online, along with transparency about how highly autonomous AI tools operate. He called on AI companies to build systems that allow them to trace and verify why AIs behave inappropriately.

Tracey Follows, founder of strategy consultancy Futuremade, envisions a future where AI is no longer confined to screens. Instead, AI will be everywhere, in wearables, in homes, and even in public spaces, where people can interact with AI simply by talking to it.

But that accessibility makes her worry that even empathy could be outsourced. “AI could replace acts of kindness, emotional support, caring for others, and even charity fundraising,” Follows warns in her essay.

She also highlighted the risk that as people begin to develop emotional attachments to AI characters and virtual 'influencers', real relationships that require give and take, empathy and understanding are replaced by more manageable connections that lack authenticity.

In fact, relationships between people and AI chatbots have already begun to form, and the resulting picture is mixed. Some people are creating AI clones of deceased loved ones as a way to heal their grief, while at the same time, some parents have filed lawsuits claiming that their children have suffered emotional damage from their interactions with AI chatbots.

However, experts believe that humans still have time to take control of this future, through effective management measures, digital skills training and, most importantly, prioritizing human relationships.

The next decade will be a pivotal moment in whether AI will “strengthen” or “undermine” our humanity, says Richard Reisman, a senior fellow at the American Innovation Foundation.

“We are currently being pulled in the wrong direction by the power of the ‘tech-industrial complex,’ but there is still an opportunity to correct that course,” he wrote in the report.