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Are You Participating in Life?
I am among the 6.7 million people watching Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars. According to Variety, its season premiere was its best opener in six years. It isn’t just Dancing with the Stars that is bringing in the masses, either. A recent survey showed that more people are watching live sports than ever, with 9 in 10 U.S. adults tuning in.
It could be argued that this uptick in live content consumption is due to the rise of streaming services and the greater accessibility of live entertainment, and I don’t disagree. But I think it also points to a deeper human desire: we don’t just want to watch; we want to participate.
You know what my favorite part about watching Dancing with the Stars is? Although I am not doing the salsa on the main stage, lip-syncing in the audience, or sitting at the judges’ table, I can still vote. While I am sitting on the couch in my pajamas, gripping a bowl of popcorn, I feel, in a small way, like I am part of the action. I am no longer just watching something happen. I have a tiny role in what happens next.
The same is true for live sports. Although I am certainly not out on the field or sitting in the stadium, I am hovering over my husband’s shoulder as he sets his fantasy football lineup. When he asks me to chime in, in a small way, I feel like I am part of the action, too. There is something different about watching something unfold when you have even the tiniest stake in the outcome.
As I was watching NFL games on Sunday and Dancing with the Stars on Tuesday, I couldn’t help but think: This is one of the things AI cannot replace. Of course, there are the obvious things, like athletic ability, artistic talent, and live performance. But I think there is something even more important that AI cannot replicate: our yearning to actively participate. Yes, as watchers of live entertainment, but more importantly, as active participants in our own lives.
I recently listened to the podcast episode AI Is Like Fast Food for Your Brain, featuring a conversation with psychologist and conflict expert Dr. David Zierk. The conversation explored how AI could potentially accelerate the loneliness epidemic by giving us short-term hits of stimulation and entertainment that feel good in the moment but don’t necessarily leave us feeling fulfilled afterward. He attributed some of this to the difference between being a spectator and being an active participant. Entertainment is wonderful because it gives us something to watch, follow, and enjoy, but there is a difference between watching life happen and actually participating in it.
Dr. Laurie Santos, Yale professor and host of The Happiness Lab, has made a similar point about social media and connection. She has compared some forms of digital connection to the “NutraSweet” version of the real thing. It may taste similar, and it may even satisfy us temporarily, but it still isn’t the real thing. Watching someone else live, travel, celebrate, create, or connect can give us a glimpse of the experience, but it cannot fully replace having the experience ourselves. The same may be true when we turn to AI for the answer without participating in the learning process that gets us there. We may arrive at the destination faster and more efficiently, but we miss the critical participation piece that comes with the journey.
Simon Sinek has also commented on the movement toward real-life experiences. In a SHRM interview, he pointed to young people moving away from their computers and phones in search of experiences with other human beings. We can see it in the rise of concerts and live events, the continued popularity of travel, and perhaps even in the millions of people tuning in together to watch something happen in real time. In a world where almost everything can be consumed on demand, there is still something special about being able to say, “I was part of that.”
I think that craving will become even stronger as AI becomes a bigger part of our lives. AI can plan the vacation, but it cannot experience a cocktail poolside. It can create an optimized workout plan, but it cannot experience a runner's high. In essence, AI can give us ideas for our lives, but it cannot live our lives for us.
That makes me wonder if one way to take back some control is to take inventory of how we’re currently living and ask ourselves: What do I want to experience for myself? Where am I choosing to participate rather than spectate? And most importantly, where have I started outsourcing the experience without even realizing it?
For me, a simple example of this is choosing to listen to audiobooks rather than reading. I started doing this to save time and consume more content, but I want to go back to actively stumbling over a word or two, flipping a crisp page, and falling asleep with the book dangling off the edge of the bed. That makes me part of it.
That is how I plan to win in the age of AI. I get to choose what I actively participate in and what I experience for myself. And if that means voting for the couple I want to be my Mirrorball champion on Tuesday nights, so be it.
What are you choosing to actively participate in?
Find one thing that brings you joy today.
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