Who still remembers a world without the Internet? This question came to my mind recently because I’ve been thinking quite seriously about the pace of change that humanity is experiencing. And the catalyst for these reflections, of course, was ChatGPT.
I found myself thinking back to 1994. I was on a three-month scholarship in Ireland and expecting my first child. As a young future mother, I felt a lot of anxiety being so far from my family. I missed contact, support, and conversation so much. At that time, the only available means of communication were “snail mail” (traditional mail) and (horribly expensive) phone calls.
One day, my roommate burst into our room with an electrifying message: there’s something called the Internet, and we can access it in the laboratory at USG (University College Galway). Of course, using computers with a DOS operating system. That was one end… And the other end of this mysterious invention was in Lublin, my hometown, and probably in only one place – the office of the Dean of Science at the Technical University.
It’s hard to believe, but it really happened that way. Using the Dean’s kindness, I would arrange a specific day and time with my family, and we would sit in front of our screens, thousands of kilometres apart, and exchange something that today we would call a “chat.” The delay in receiving messages was several minutes, but who cares… The joy was endless.
Today, nearly 30 years later, I don’t even think about communication being instant. I usually don’t consider that I feel incomplete without a phone with internet access. I don’t do this because I’m rushing. Until now, when I start to experience uncertainty. Because I DON’T KNOW… I don’t know if, when exchanging correspondence with someone, I’m writing to a real person or an algorithm. I don’t know if the competencies they are presenting are theirs or if they’ve outsourced the preparation of a job interview to AI. I don’t know if, working remotely, they are really doing their job, or if a program is “clicking” for them. I DON’T KNOW…
When I consciously touch upon these and other I DON’T KNOWs, I understand why for many people this is a difficult experience, sometimes beyond the resources they have. I understand why it is becoming increasingly difficult to cope mentally with such an unpredictable reality. But knowing that I’m not alone in this gives me relief – it feels a bit lighter. When the tension eases, I start to become curious. Where will our desire to know and understand more and more take us?
I imagine that the next thirty years will change the face of this Earth. In what way? I DON’T KNOW…
And do you know if it was me who wrote this text?