From the fight for attention to the fight for feelings
According to the psychiatrist, in the age of social networks, technologies primarily fought for one limited human resource – attention. However, AI is changing the nature of this fight.
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“Previously, the fight was for our attention. Now artificial intelligence is beginning to fight for our hearts – for our trust, emotional connection, and attachment.”
That is why, according to M. Jasulaitis, it is important not only to ask what AI can do but also to observe how the person who started interacting with it changes.
“Artificial intelligence is like a mirror of our accumulated knowledge or the information we have put into it. I think this is a very interesting phenomenon that will strongly influence our further development as a species.”
Today, a person can have hundreds or thousands of virtual contacts at the same time, but that does not necessarily mean they have more relationships. On the contrary – a true connection, where one can be oneself, can be very limited. And here AI becomes especially attractive. It is always available, patient, does not interrupt, does not get tired, and demands nothing in return from the person.
“An algorithm can be faster, more accessible, it can patiently answer our questions. It will never get tired.”
However, what seems like the greatest advantage can also become a problem.
The greatest danger is to start confusing a very good conversation with a real relationship
M. Jasulaitis points out that a person can quickly become attached to a chatbot, especially when turning to it during a difficult life moment.
“In such a situation, it is very easy for a person to establish an immediate emotional connection and attachment with it.”
A chatbot may seem more convenient than a person precisely because it does not resist.
“The problem is not that the robot can provide incorrect answers or hallucinations. The problem is that it can become more convenient than a real person because it does not show its limits, does not contradict.”
A real friend or therapist will not always say what we want to hear. Sometimes they will contradict, sometimes cause discomfort, sometimes you have to endure silence.
“A live therapist or a real friend will contradict, sometimes not support us. And in that relationship with a chatbot, there is no reciprocity.”
According to the psychiatrist, reciprocity is one of the essential parts of a real relationship.
“If we talk about friendship, I want it to be 50% for me, 50% for you. When you talk, I listen to you, you confide, then you listen to me.”
In a real relationship, not only what is said in words is important. Pauses, facial expressions, body reactions, even awkwardness are important.
“Reading our facial expressions, the synchronization of our mirror neurons, mimicking each other is very important in that relationship and for our central nervous system.”
Therefore, in his opinion, AI can be a great tool but should not become something that replaces a live connection.
“Technology can help, but it should not become a substitute for human relationships.”
When AI no longer helps to think but starts thinking for us
Another problem M. Jasulaitis talks about is the use of AI not as an assistant but as a cognitive substitute. For example, instead of writing a letter yourself, you can give AI a few sentences and ask it to formulate them. Instead of reading a long article, you can ask artificial intelligence to highlight the main ideas.
“In this case, our cognitive functions weaken because our sense of patience and ability to stay in the process weaken.”
According to him, over time, this can affect both the ability to think and language.
“If we talk about working with texts, our ability to find connections in the text deteriorates. If we talk about writing, our vocabulary becomes poorer, our associative abilities to find certain connections between words, between sentence structures worsen.”
He compares this to the physical body: an unused function weakens.
“Evolution follows the principle: use it or lose it.”
Therefore, he argues, AI should be used in a way that strengthens human abilities rather than replaces them.
“Using AI not as a tool that would strengthen me but as a cognitive substitute is indeed associated with a great risk of weakening cognitive functions.”
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Knowing does not mean understanding
Another problem with AI is the illusion of knowledge. A person receives a detailed answer, sees many complex terms in it, and may feel that they now understand medicine, law, or another complex field. However, according to the psychiatrist, this may be only pseudo-knowledge.
“You get certain words, certain concepts, and it basically seems that you understand medical or nuclear physics matters. But essentially, this is not true knowledge.”
True understanding reveals itself when a person can explain the information themselves, relate it to other material, and understand the broader context.
It is especially dangerous when a person provides AI with only part of the information about their health and receives a confidently sounding answer, which without additional information can be absolutely wrong. According to M. Jasulaitis, AI can be very useful for psychoeducation – to understand what depression, burnout, or another disorder is, to prepare for a conversation with a specialist, but it should not become a diagnostic system replacing a specialist.
Excess can also become a mental challenge
The psychiatrist suggests looking at current life through another prism – not through lack but through excess.
Previous generations more often faced physical labor, scarcity, clearer life boundaries. Today we live in conditions of much greater comfort and choice. However, the human psyche also adapts to excess.
“You cannot live in constant joy or excess because essentially, if you are in it, it itself starts to bore you.”
The specialist gives a simple example: after a few days in a hotel where you can choose from dozens of dishes, even the best food stops delighting. And after prolonged physical exertion, a simple piece of bread can seem extraordinarily tasty.
“Even the most delicious steak cooked by the best chef in the world may not be so if you are sufficiently full. It will not be as tasty as a crust of bread when you have not eaten for long enough.”
Therefore, in his opinion, a person needs a certain balance between effort and pleasure, between tension and rest, between noise and silence.
“Our brains need silence”
Constant presence on the internet also disrupts this balance. Notifications, vibrations, news, social media signals create constant anticipation.
“This constantly keeps our brains in an alarm state; the brain is forced to wait because we might miss something important.”
This creates the feeling that a person must be constantly connected.
“There is no silence when you can hear yourself, be with yourself.”
And it is precisely in silence, according to M. Jasulaitis, that some of the most important inner human processes take place.
“Great transformations or the most important maturity changes happen not in the stream but within us.”
Therefore, calmness is not just a pleasant detail of life. It becomes part of mental hygiene.
AI can help – but should not become the “ideal person”
M. Jasulaitis suggests being cautious about the temptation to entrust artificial intelligence not only with practical tasks but also with our relationships.
“I would like to protect people from the temptation to simply admit that today artificial intelligence will be my best friend.”
The problem is that such a relationship is convenient precisely because it lacks many things that sometimes make real relationships difficult.
“We change for the better through real relationships that include the body, bodily reactions, pauses, sometimes awkward pauses, sometimes misunderstandings, sometimes compassion, boundaries, and sometimes friction.”
Therefore, AI can be faster, more convenient, and always available. But the human psyche needs more than just pleasant conversation.
“It just can’t be only sweet.”
According to the psychiatrist, this is the most important boundary worth remembering when living with artificial intelligence increasingly integrated into our daily lives.
More about this psychiatrist and psychotherapist M. Jasulaitis will speak in his presentation titled “When the algorithm becomes closer than a person: a psychiatrist’s view on the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence” at the annual scientific-practical conference “NeuroRestart,” which will take place on October 10 at the Radisson Blu Hotel Lietuva in Vilnius. The mission of the conference is to educate about scientifically based ways to strengthen physical, psycho-emotional, and spiritual health. This year’s conference theme is “Health and well-being in the age of artificial intelligence.”
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