OFFLOAD OFF ROAD

Not long ago, I was driving my youngest to the airport. She was in a hurry as is oft the case, so I put on the GPS:

“Hey Siri,” I said, “directions to the airport.” My daughter was aghast.

“How long have you lived here?” she demanded.

“8 years.”

“And you still don’t know the way to the airport?”

I thought about that. I do know the general direction and if I had lots of time, I would eventually get there. However, when I have a passenger, particularly one in a hurry, I get anxious and completely distracted, particularly if we get deep in conversation. I once drove to the next town over under that very circumstance. (Yes, I also turn down the radio if I’m in nerve-wracking, freeway traffic.)

It could be age, the fact I don’t drive to the airport much or my sometimes-faulty sense of direction. But science says it’s actually a result of my ‘cognitive offloading.’ That is, my brain has grown used to offloading certain tasks to technology. While it can free one up to pursue more creative tasks, it can also make you kind of stupid if you’re not careful. I happily offload phone numbers to my iPhone. Why waste brain space for mere numbers?

Whether or not I turn on the correct street does not affect my self-worth one iota. However, I would never ‘offload’ my writing to AI as it has yet to capture my voice and I take personal pride in my work. Also, I used to fret when I recognized someone but couldn’t recall their name. It was embarrassing. Not anymore. Turns out there’s nothing wrong with me. So, if you’re a name-forgetter like me, check this out!

For the record, I rode in one, self-driving Waymo, once. (Yes, I kept my foot on the brake and gripped the door handle hard the whole ride.) I would have done so twice, but that second Waymo flew right past me because I was standing on the wrong side of the street. (It’s a bit short-sighted.) So, my friends, offload when you can and off-road if you dare. Just don’t turn the driving over to your pup—not quite yet.