{"version":1,"type":"story","url":"https://digestai.news/story/oral-historian-warns-ai-may-erode-human-listening-skills","json":"https://digestai.news/story/oral-historian-warns-ai-may-erode-human-listening-skills.json","markdown":"https://digestai.news/story/oral-historian-warns-ai-may-erode-human-listening-skills.md","slug":"oral-historian-warns-ai-may-erode-human-listening-skills","headline":"Oral historian warns AI may erode human listening skills","summary":"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 58,000 hours of recordings, capturing First Nations perspectives and historical narratives from the 19th century onward.\n\nThe 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.","keyPoints":["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"],"whyItMatters":"Human listening fosters empathy and cultural preservation; AI’s rise could accelerate its decline, eroding societal cohesion and historical memory.","category":{"slug":"society","name":"Society & Work","url":"https://digestai.news/category/society"},"entities":{"companies":[],"models":[],"people":["Dame Mary Gilmore","Dr Ella Stack"]},"firstPublishedAt":"2026-10-02T15:00:14Z","updatedAt":"2026-10-02T15:00:14Z","sourceCount":1,"hasPrimarySource":false,"sources":[{"outlet":"The Guardian AI","title":"AI threatens to destroy so much of our culture. Our greatest loss might be our ability to listen","url":"https://theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/03/ai-threatens-to-destroy-so-much-of-our-culture-our-greatest-loss-might-be-our-ability-to-listen","publishedAt":"2026-10-02T15:00:14Z","type":"press","primary":false,"lead":true}],"sourceNotes":null,"discussions":[],"thread":null,"cite":{"text":"Digest AI, \"Oral historian warns AI may erode human listening skills\", 2 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/oral-historian-warns-ai-may-erode-human-listening-skills","publisher":"Digest AI","title":"Oral historian warns AI may erode human listening skills","datePublished":"2026-10-02T15:00:14Z","url":"https://digestai.news/story/oral-historian-warns-ai-may-erode-human-listening-skills"},"generatedBy":"Written by Digest AI's editorial model from the linked sources; the sources are the record.","license":"Headlines, digests and key points are written by Digest AI and may be quoted with a link to the story page. Linked articles belong to their publishers. Terms: https://digestai.news/terms#reuse"}