Is our obsession with innovation causing a humanity deficit?

Over the past decade, we’ve been focused on the technology race, obsessively competing for AI dominance, without asking ourselves: who is technology truly serving and at what cost to humanity and the evolution of our future society?

Right now, technological advancement is driven by many interests, but humanity is not one of them.

For too long, we’ve praised technological advancement under the pretence of boosting human productivity, connectivity and improving quality of life. Yet, in many ways, the opposite has happened.

Today, we are faced with a devastating mental health crisis, a global epidemic of loneliness, growing polarization both on- and offline and a decrease in global human productivity.

In fact, research shows that human productivity levels have been in decline since the late 1990s and early 2000s, with more than half of the deceleration in global growth occurring since the global financial crisis in 2008.

Indeed, it might be no coincidence that this decline began as the dot-com boom took off, and deepened as we continued to adopt technology in our everyday lives to solve the very problems that it originally created.

This is why I argue that society is experiencing a "humanity deficit": a widening gap between prioritizing technological innovation and neglecting what it means to be human. Manipulative algorithms, addictive design features and business models rooted in the attention economy are not enhancing human potential – they are exhausting it.

From generative AI, social media and online dating to e-learning, e-gaming and remote working, the pace and scale of technological advancement are changing how people interact. More worryingly, our children – the first generation growing up in a world fully mediated by screens – are paying the highest cost.

We are already seeing the consequences. Studies have shown that children today spend more time online than engaging in face-to-face exchange with their families, friends and peers.

All this is contributing to a loss of essential life-skills – including emotional intelligence, resilience and the ability to nurture and commit to in-person relationships, and, most critically, human agency.

This shift – what we call the “human change” – marks a profound turning point in our evolution as individuals and as a society.

The technology that promised to give us, and our children, a brighter future is leaving everyone more disconnected, lonelier and struggling to thrive in the real world. This digital overload is exhausting our emotional and cognitive resources, diminishing our potential.

That’s why I launched Human Change — a global campaign uniting academics, scientists, tech ethicists, psychologists, parents and educators — to fight the epidemic of loneliness and screen addiction for a meaningful childhood and to safeguard the future of our society.

Launched at the World Economic Forum's 2024 Annual Meeting in Davos, Human Change unites experts who are raising awareness about the impact of digital devices on children’s cognitive development.

We elevate and connect the change-makers and pioneers who are researching, studying and driving positive change in their fields. We support their work, amplify their voices and bring them into rooms filled with global leaders – from governments to businesses.

This year, we returned to Davos' famous Promenade with even greater impact. From tech ethicist and Center for Humane Technology co-founder Tristan Harris to social psychologist and The Anxious Generation author Jon Haidt, our House became the home for asking fundamental questions: How is technology changing what it means to be human – and what does that mean for our children’s future?

Like many global advocacy movements, we are calling on government leaders, technologists, policymakers, parents and young people to take stock and ask: where do we go from here?

Many parents and educators are already taking action: delaying smartphones, limiting screen time and social media use, or banning devices in schools. But delaying alone is not a solution. We must also build purposeful resilience, critical thinking and emotional intelligence in our children to help them thrive in a more digital future.

Regulations like the UK’s Online Safety Act or the EU’s Digital Service Act are also a good starting point. But until governments enforce a duty of care on tech companies, these companies will continue to embrace innovation without considering its impact on children.

Tech companies must fundamentally change their business models to prioritize children’s safety and well-being in their design. A genuine user-centric approach to developing products can go a long way in changing how people interact with them. This means they must prove that their apps and gadgets are not addictive and do not jeopardize the development of life skills in children.

But first and foremost, we must understand how an over-digitalized childhood is undermining the next generation’s capacity to sustain the democratic civic structures of the future. Without recognizing the harm that these devices are causing to our children, it will be nearly impossible to reverse this trajectory.

Those technology companies that make changes willingly will benefit in the long term, while those that don’t will risk lawsuits and reputational damage for the harm they’ve done. These companies must ensure that technology serves humanity, not the other way around.

More importantly, we need a return to human-centric values and family as the main social structure of our society. Initiatives like John Mack’s Life Calling remind us all what it means to be human and how to redefine ourselves in the digital age.

Similarly, the Royal Society of Arts creates spaces for children to reconnect with nature and community, helping to rebuild a resilient sense of self. Whether through spending time in nature, imaginative play or fostering and nurturing committed in-person relationships with our family and social communities – humanity can only be preserved when it is put first.

Ultimately, until we collectively recognize the risks that unchecked technology poses to human evolution, we won’t be able to reverse its course. Human change is already happening, but only together can we preserve humanity.

If we don’t do it for ourselves, let’s at least do it for our children. They are our future.