Oral historian warns AI may erode human listening skills
An oral historian argues AI’s rise could diminish humanity’s ability to listen, a skill tied to culture and empathy. The author, who led Australia’s largest oral history project from 2018 to early 2024, notes a 338-word daily decline in spoken conversation between 2005 and 2019—totaling 120,000 words lost per person over that period. Their work at the National Library of Australia includes over…
Key points
- 338 fewer spoken words per day lost between 2005 and 2019, totaling 120,000 words per person
- National Library of Australia’s oral history collection holds 58,000+ hours of recordings since 1957
- AI may replace human listening, threatening empathy and cultural understanding, warns oral historian
The historian highlights how AI-driven ‘empathetic’ tools may replace meaningful dialogue, stripping away the depth of human connection. They describe listening to diverse voices—from a 1865-born woman recalling pre-electricity life to a Vietnam War refugee—revealing shared humanity across time. The loss of such exchanges, they warn, risks weakening empathy, understanding, and resilience in a fragmented world.
AI threatens to destroy so much of our culture. Our greatest loss might be our ability to listen
The Guardian AI · 2 October 2026
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This text was published by The Guardian AI and written by Shirleene Robinson. It is reproduced here with attribution so you can read it in full; the rights remain with the publisher. Read it at the source ↗
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