Irreplaceable

I am super freaked out by those new robotic K9 police dogs that made their debut in New York recently. First of all, have you seen them?? They give off major Headless Horseman vibes and look like a failed experiment in Jurassic Park, to say the least. They are creepy AF. I admit to having done no research on these robots and I have a ton of questions about how this will be safe and effective. I was always very moved hearing stories about policemen and their actual dogs. It seems to me that in such a difficult and dangerous line of work, an emotional connection between human and animal is vital for the well being of the officer. Will a robot whimper if their partner is shot? Will the robot know how to instinctively feel (FEEL!!!) if their human is in danger and pounce? This makes me sad and angry; real, living, emotional connections continue to be replaced by manufactured, unnatural, soulless enterprises. I assume these changes are largely financially motivated which obviously makes this even more disheartening and scary.
This past week it was announced that Bed Bath and Beyond, one of my favorite stores, is closing due to going out of business. Like so many other businesses both small and large that have been destroyed by online shopping, BBB, an institution, will soon be a memory. So too with hundreds of Walmarts. And have you heard of Flippy? It’s a burger flipping robot used by White Castle to cook. The first Flippy debuted in Indiana and was deemed successful. Now the fast food chain will be expanding into a fleet of robotic short order cooks. With so many living, breathing beings being replaced by machines, how is unemployment not going to skyrocket? To what extent does “efficiency” take presidency over actual people? I know this is an old question but I have been super alarmed by all of this lately. People are losing their jobs like dominoes in favor of machinery. In addition to the multitude of issues this raises, on a deeper level it sends a clear and traumatic message: we are replaceable. We don’t matter enough to have staying power. We are no longer needed. I feel trapped in a world where emotional human responses to these types of changes, which are often of a devastating nature, are unheard, unanswered, and ignored. They are simply not convenient because they get in the way of “the future”. Furthermore, there is shaming involved in said devastating responses; one who protests is considered to be stuck in the past, out of touch, and old.
Having grown up in a highly conditional and ultra competitive family of origin where outward appearance was law, there was always a covert message that lest I deliver/behave in a certain way then I’d be replaced. Not in the literal sense but through criticism and withdrawals of kindness and affection. I had to work hard to feel I mattered. This was achieved through approval which required me to bang my head against a wall trying to figure out how to get my doggie treat. It was deeply confusing and painful. I became an expert. This was a pattern that naturally followed me into adulthood until I became aware of it (which was devastating and caused tremendous grief). I was once in a relationship where I was actually told that I was replaceable. On the list of highly traumatizing words a person can ever hear, “replaceable” is up there. We only replace what no longer means anything to us. Things we no longer need. Old clothes, a broken tv, an actual supermarket, a phone call, the list is endless. But each thing we discard contains the same message: I no longer have use for you. The conversation around robotic replacement is so much greater than economics, AI, and the future. It’s way bigger than Silicon Valley churning out ideas “to make the world a better place”. Not only will unemployment skyrocket but so will depression. Sending the message to living beings that they don’t matter anymore will have massive emotional ramifications. I don’t believe the collective psyche will be able to withstand it. My heart breaks for everyone who is at the mercy of these insane changes, as well as for the people implementing them; imagine going to work to create ways to cut real living, breathing creatures out of the picture. It’s unhealthy and bad for the soul. It’s a stampede on the heartbeat of the collective, a chokehold on life. There’s such a cold apathy to all of it that frightens me. It will lead to great suffering.
Let this serve as a reminder that we must remember our nature which is to connect. It is the soul’s very purpose, which is why it hurts so much when we neglect it and forget. Human connection and care is irreplaceable. You are irreplaceable no matter what messages may be out there to the contrary. Eye contact, reduced screen time, physical touch, conversation with a stranger, connecting with nature, dancing, preparing a meal, or taking a simple walk and smiling at others seem so simple but contain tremendous opportunities to feel connection. We die without connection on every level. It’s essential for our survival in every sense. We can’t control these changes happening in the world. We are living in dark times. The medicine of connection is desperately needed and is available in endless ordinary ways. And finding the extraordinary amidst the ordinary is a miracle that will never be replaced.