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Aging With AI
Birth, Aging, and the New World of AI
Our lives begin and end with contractions
We are propelled into this world through a series of contractions. They push us into an existence separate from our mother. Those contractions are painful, but they are purposeful and necessary.
Our exit from this world largely mirrors our entrance, although usually on a different time scale.
Aging brings its own forms of contraction — the gradual contraction of abilities, strength, and agency that characterizes our later years.
The Contractions of Aging
Unlike birth contractions, which typically span only a few hours, the contractions of aging unfold over years and decades.
They often begin subtly — reading glasses for menus in dimly lit restaurants, holding the railing a bit more firmly on stairs, or asking someone to repeat what they have said in a crowded room.
As we age, our world contracts in ways that we might anticipate in theory but that are still surprising (and disconcerting) as they actually occur.
Physical spaces that once seemed easily navigated become challenging. Social circles narrow through loss and changing circumstances. Mental faculties begin to…
