I hopped onto a driverless bus to work. Got down and rushed into a nearby cafe, picked breakfast handed over by a robot. I walked into the office. I rearranged some things on my desk and was happy to exchange warm greeting with my fellow workers. That’s when my boss walked up to me and said, quite mercilessly at that, “A machine will replace you soon.”
I woke up with cold sweat on my brow. Wati, what!? It was just a dream. Relieved as I was, but did not waste a second to read up about this whole AI stuff. AI is artificial intelligence. How likely was my dream to come true?
I found that AI has already started generating content. I read a bit more. Were there others like me too? From factory workers to dermatologists to lawyers, everyone faced a threat from the machines. I was reminded of a Chandler Bing quote from the famous sitcom FRIENDS , “If I’m going down, I’m taking down everyone with me!”
But upon intense research, I found hope for myself and fellow companions living in AI fear across the world.
We have hope
In a talk at MindValley, an education hub, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said, “Qualities of humanity - compassion, awareness of oneself cannot be replaced by AI.”
Experts suggest even more. Human characteristics like creativity, empathy, understand others’ perspectives and variability - the ability to respond to change - cannot be replaced by AI, said multiple articles.
One of which particularly said that creativity comes from letting our minds wander - something that AI cannot perform as they are trained to focus on a single task. I never liked my ability to do nothing so much more than I liked that moment.
Due to a lack of emotions, AI is unable to empathize and to understand others’ emotions - a prized skill set at workplace as it allows us to collaborate and work in teams. Funny, I thought, as my superfluous emotions never failed to cause trouble with my colleagues and bosses. I had forgotten the multiple times my emotions allowed me to be a team player, helping teammates, understanding different perspectives of colleagues and wanting to arrive at a consensus.
Variability is another factor that distinguishes humans from AI. Machines are trained to perform a task repeatedly, disallowing them to respond to unexpected information. Humans, on the other hand, are flexible beings who can adapt to change.
The challenges
However, we are not all born with creative impulses. Neither are we good at keeping our emotions in balance all the time and being empathetic at all times. Moreover, skills like empathy and variability are taxing. Studies show that jobs like nursing and customer service which require empathy as a skill set are emotionally draining in the long-run. And tasks which require to continuously change roles are similarly draining.
Meditation to the rescue
Just when I was pondering over the above challenges, I got a text from a friend. “The more we relax into ourselves, we bring out creativity and happiness. Meditation is an ideal way to relax in a short time.” - Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’ said the text message.
I looked up the benefits of meditation. Do studies also show that meditation makes one more creative? I looked up more and found that all the challenges can be overcome with meditation. Here’s how:
Meditation makes you creative
In an experiment, three groups were assigned to brainstorm on a topic. The first group was led into a short meditation session before the session. The second group participated in a fake meditation session. The third group started brainstorming immediately. The group that came up with many ideas was the one that meditated before the session.
Studies show that meditation opens the mind to new ideas. It improves attention, making it easier to register new ideas. It nurtures resilience that allows one to effectively deal with setbacks that are linked with any innovation process.
Meditation makes you more empathetic
Multiple studies show that regular meditation makes one more empathetic. In one such study, participants’ ability to empathize was gauged before and after eight weeks of regular meditation. They were shown photographs of people making various expressions. The photographs were cropped to expose only the eye region. While the participants tried to guess the emotional states of each pair of eyes, their neural activity was gauged. It was found that after eight weeks of meditation, participants showed improved ability in identifying emotional states of people in photographs. In addition, there was an increased activity in certain parts of the brain.
Meditation keeps your emotions in check
It has been shown that meditation keeps negative emotions in check. Studies show negative emotions like anger reduce after the practice. Studies also show Sudarshan Kriya, a breathing technique that aids meditation, helps in reducing anxiety and stress - which further keeps the mind stable. When we are able to keep our negative emotions in check, we are able to tap into the positive emotions that help us in collaboration and teamwork.
Meditation energizes you quickly
When skills like empathy and variability drain us out, meditation helps in repleting our source of energy. I have personally experienced this. A short meditation in the morning keeps me energized throughout the day. I can feel the difference on the day when I don’t meditate. Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar gives a clue on how meditation energizes us, “Tiredness is when our senses go outward. In meditation, when the senses start turning inward, we are tapping into the internal source of energy.”
Finally, I knew peace.
Machines are powerful. But not as powerful as human-ness itself. Wonderfully, there is also a tool that enhances this human-ness that overrides one of the most pertinent threats of our times.
Learn meditation in a Happiness Program or Sahaj Samadhi program near you!
Written by Vanditaa Kothari
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