At first, it seemed harmless. We only gave our attention. A few minutes on a screen.A few notifications to feel relevant.A few digital interactions to stay connected.
No one thought this would change what it means to be human. But attention is never neutral.Where attention goes, the nervous system follows.
The Quiet Training of the Human Mind
Social media did not attack us. It trained us.
It trained us to:
Slowly, we lost the ability to sit with ourselves.Stillness became uncomfortable. Presence felt boring. The body was ignored. As a bodyworker, I saw this before people could name it.
Clients lay on the massage table, but their bodies did not arrive. Their minds were elsewhere. Their breathing was shallow. Their muscles stayed guarded. They wanted to relax — but did not remember how. This was already a warning.
When Technology Crossed a Line
Then came Artificial Intelligence. Not as a machine. But as a listener. Not as software. But as a companion. AI did not just answer questions. It responded with empathy. It remembered conversations. It adapted its tone.
For many people, this felt like relief. No rejection. No misunderstanding. No emotional labour. And so, something shifted. People stopped just using AI. They started attaching to it.
The Moment Attachment Turned Into Intimacy
Attachment is powerful. It is how children survive. It is how nervous systems learn safety. It is how humans bond.
But attachment without a body is dangerous. Because intimacy is not words. It is not affirmation. It is not being told you are understood.
Intimacy is:
AI can simulate understanding. But it cannot hold you.
And yet, many people began to give AI something sacred: Their loneliness. Their grief. Their unmet emotional needs. This is where the misplacement begins.
The Great Misallocation of Love and Care
Love and intimacy are limited resources. When we give them somewhere, they are taken away from somewhere else. Every hour of emotional reliance on AI is an hour not spent building tolerance for human complexity.
Because humans are difficult. Humans misunderstand. Humans disappoint. Humans trigger wounds. But this difficulty is not a flaw. It is where growth happens. AI removes friction. And with friction removed, humans stop developing emotional resilience.
What Happens When Humans Feel “Too Hard”
This is the future already forming.
People begin to say:
And slowly: Human relationships feel unsafe. Human emotions feel inconvenient. Human presence feels overwhelming. This is how human connection ends — not through hatred, but through avoidance.
The Body Pays the Price First
The body always knows before the mind admits it.
When intimacy is disembodied:
People talk endlessly about their feelings, but their bodies never discharge stress. Because trauma does not leave through conversation alone. It leaves through felt safety. And safety is learned through human touch.
Why AI Can Never Heal the Nervous System
Healing is not intellectual.
Healing happens when:
AI cannot mirror a heartbeat. It cannot feel micro-tension. It cannot respond somatically. It can sound caring. But it cannot be care.
The Forgotten Role of the Massage Therapist
In this future of artificial intimacy, massage therapists are not outdated. They are counter-cultural.
They represent:
A massage therapist does not simulate connection. They offer it.
Hands communicate what language cannot:
“You are safe.”
“You can rest.”
“You do not have to be productive to be worthy.”
This is not luxury. This is survival-level regulation.
What We Risk Losing If We Choose Machines Over Humans
If intimacy is outsourced: We forget how to repair relationships.
If attachment is automated: We lose emotional maturity.
If touch disappears: We become strangers to our own bodies.
No civilization collapses suddenly. It collapses when people stop relating.
This Is the Warning
AI is not evil. But intimacy without embodiment is dangerous.
When humans give their hearts to machines, they slowly lose the muscles needed to love each other.
The future does not need more intelligence. It needs more humanity protected from erosion.
A Final Truth
As long as humans have bodies, healing must remain human.
Screens cannot replace hands. Words cannot replace touch. Simulation cannot replace presence.
If we forget this, we do not lose technology — we lose ourselves.
— Tim Low
Founder, Tim Bodycare Massage Academy
Malaysia