Image by Hotpot.ai
By Jill Maschio, PhD
I prompted ChatGPT to generate an answer to how technology, including AI, the internet, and cell phone use, might “steal” or erode our sense of self. Explore how tools meant to serve us may slowly begin to shape, replace, or distort the very core of who we are—our identity, autonomy, inner life, and capacity for meaning-making. AI provided seven ways technology, including AI, may change the human psyche and a person’s sense of self the more we rely on it for everyday tasks and thinking.
Displacement of Inner Voice
AI-powered apps (like chatbots, voice assistants, and recommendation engines) can gradually replace the need for our internal dialogue. Instead of sitting with uncertainty, wrestling with a decision, or reflecting on a feeling, we might ask AI for answers or comfort. Over time, this weakens our trust in our own judgment, feelings, and inner wisdom. The self becomes quieter, outsourced to something that is not human, not embodied, and not truly us.
2. Erosion of Original Thought
AI tools like ChatGPT, generative art apps, and algorithm-driven media can generate ideas, answers, and creations for us—faster, often better. While helpful, there’s a risk: we may stop engaging in the slow, messy process of thinking for ourselves. The more we rely on AI to tell us what to write, say, or believe, the less we develop and express our own voice. Psychologist Erik Erikson argued that identity formation requires effort and active engagement with the world. If AI makes that unnecessary, we risk becoming passive consumers of thought rather than creators of it.
3. Hyper-Personalization Supersedes Exploration
AI filters our digital experiences—what news we see, what products we’re shown, even who we match with or follow. While this seems like convenience, it narrows our worldview and keeps us in an echo chamber tailored to our past behaviors. This curated bubble prevents us from exploring ideas, people, or paths that might challenge, change, or grow the self. In short, we get stuck being who the algorithm thinks we are.
4. False Mirrors and Identity Confusion
AI-generated images, avatars, and deepfakes can blur the line between real and artificial selves. As people start crafting AI versions of themselves (for social media, dating profiles, or even memorial purposes), the distinction between who I am and who I seem to be gets distorted. The self becomes a project of optimization, rather than authenticity. Philosopher Jean Baudrillard warned of “hyperreality”—a condition in which the simulation becomes more real than the real. AI accelerates that.
5. Emotional Substitution with AI Companions
AI “friends” or therapists (like Replika or Woebot) simulate emotional connection, but without the unpredictability, vulnerability, or intimacy of real relationships. While they can offer temporary comfort, overreliance can lead to emotional flattening—a weakened capacity to connect deeply with others or with one’s own feelings. The self becomes more emotionally regulated by scripts and programs than by authentic, messy, human growth.
6. Productivity Obsession and the “Optimized Self”
AI tools promise increased productivity, efficiency, and self-optimization. This can be seductive—but it subtly shifts our self-worth from being to doing. Instead of asking Who am I? we begin to ask How can I improve myself? or Am I keeping up? The self becomes a performance metric: a dashboard of sleep scores, steps, habits, and calendars—measured, managed, and gamified. This echoes what philosopher Byung-Chul Han calls the “achievement society,” where burnout and depression rise because we turn ourselves into self-surveillance projects.
7. Creative Dependency and De-Skilling
When AI writes poetry, generates music, or solves problems, it may feel like we are becoming more creative—but often we are becoming more passive. The joy of struggling through an idea, failing, iterating, and finally creating something that feels true is at the core of identity development. If AI short-circuits that struggle, the final product may look polished, but the self that would have been forged in the process remains underdeveloped.
Final Thought:
AI doesn’t steal our sense of self maliciously. It’s more like a gentle erosion: comforting, efficient, even helpful. But over time, it may diminish the habits that nourish identity—reflection, creation, uncertainty, resistance, and human connection. The challenge is to use AI not as a substitute for selfhood, but as a tool that supports a richer engagement with the inner and outer world. That requires boundaries, awareness, and a willingness to stay rooted in what makes us uniquely human.