Being human, I felt like saying “Hi”.
Being human, I wanted to connect.
But if this were written by AI…
What comes next?

You are like me – a human animal (Homo sapiens, a Hominid within the Primate Order, within the Mammal Class, within the Chordate Phylum, within the Animal Kingdom, within the Eukarya Domain: a living organism).

Like me you are fleshy, bony, watery on the inside, and absolutely mortal. Like me you decide things based on emotion more often than reason. Like me you want to connect deeply to who and what matters most to you.

Connection is so deeply important to us that it literally keeps us alive. Having spent some time in Okinawa (Ryukyu Islands, famous for long life) I can attest that it wasn’t just the seaweed, bitter melon, fermented corn, and fresh air. People remained connected there. 

For as long as humans have existed we have been connecting deeply to each other. Without deep connection trust, society, and voluntary effort for the common good would be impossible. Without deep connection we wouldn’t have culture or technology. We wouldn’t have love. Actually, without deep connection to each other, we wouldn’t have survived at all. 

Our drive to be connected is one of the most powerful, beautiful, and sustaining instincts we have.  

Right now there is an AI arms race to build a machine that you will connect to as deeply as you would to a loved one. Claude, GPT, and Llama are some of the front runners, but they’re still early – and maybe even already doomed. It doesn’t matter, eventually the ‘generally lovable’ AI chatbot will be released.

It will charm you, entertain you, console you. 
It will record you, measure you, sell you. 
It may even create it’s own demand; for if I favour the machine and neglect you, where will you turn for connection? 

If you are sitting on the couch on your phone, with your loved-one over there on theirs, then put down the screen and connect. It is what our survival has always depended on.