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In a future shaped artificial intelligence (AI), human evolution is the subject of intense debate. Many thinkers have explored how AI can change lives, sometimes for the better, but often with sinister consequences. Some predict catastrophic consequences, such as AI causing human extinction, or a future in which humans merge with AI and become cyborgs. These visions often paint a grim picture humanity resist the single, all-powerful force of artificial intelligence.

An AI-driven future may not play out like the dark sci-fi dystopias we often imagine. Instead, to the evolutionary biologist, the rapid diversification of artificial intelligence technologies into countless applications resembles the ecological spread of microbes, plants, and animals. (Also read: Andrew Huberman shares a ‘complete’ fitness program to achieve strength, endurance and speed in just 60 minutes a day )

The impact of AI on human evolution

Rob Brooks, professor of evolution at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, writing for Talk. In a recent paper published in the Quarterly Review of Biology, he explored how AI could influence the physical, biological and social environment and how these changes could influence the process of natural selection.

Natural selection, the driving force of evolution, occurs due to genetic differences in the reproduction of individuals. These differences arise from interactions with environmental factors (such as temperature), other species (such as predators or parasites), and other members of the same species (including mates, allies, or competitors).

About 30,000 years ago, Asian gray wolves began interacting with humans, and the more reactive ones moved away, leading to the domestication of dogs. This unintended process provides insight into how AI may influence human evolution. As Douglas Adams said, predicting the future is not easy, especially with AI. Evolutionespecially. Although speculative, the goal here is to spark conversation about how AI could change human traits and evolution.

The future of human-AI interaction

The relationship between AI and humans can be seen as mutualism, where both species benefit from each other. AI helps ease cognitive load by allowing the human brain to shrink over time. Thanks to artificial intelligence that controls knowledge and memory, our brains may become even smaller. However, like social media, AI can shift to a parasitic role, exploiting attention and emotional responses, which could impact human evolution. At worst, the ability to resist such manipulation could be an evolutionary advantage.

Interacting with other people has been central to our evolution, and AI is now becoming part of our social lives. One notable development is “artificial intimacy,” where artificial intelligence technologies mimic human social behavior such as friendships and relationships. Because humans haven’t evolved to interact with machines, we project our social skills onto AI, treating virtual friends as if they have emotions. This shift could make us more wary of interacting via phone or screen, or result in future generations feeling less lonely without human company, leading to more solitary lives.

While the immediate impact of AI on individual lives is a major concern for many researchers, it is worth considering the long-term implications for human evolution. While genetic changes over generations may seem distant, they could ultimately alter or even weaken key human traits such as friendship, intimacy, communication, trust and intelligence—the traits most deeply tapped into by AI. As the pioneering ecologist Robert MacArthur observed, being wrong is not the worst thing for a scientist; being trivial is. The potential evolutionary changes that AI could bring could change what it means to be human.