This was a presentation l used for my radio appearance when l chatted to Nicolette at the Conscious Creative about the impact and influence of technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is having on the way we function as creatives. The positives, negatives and challenges of coexisting with this technology in a beneficial way. Along with the considerations of the Digital Effects on the Brain: Inspiration, Creativity, Motivation, &Performance. You can catch the interview here https://anchor.fm/creative-genius-podcast/episodes/How-Does-Artificial-Intelligence-Impact-the-Way-Creatives-Function----Salema-Veliu-e466ac/a-a1ptlh Alongside my survey you can take here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MX853NC on Spirituality + Technology - Are they linked and if so what are the connections that may give us a greater understanding of who we are and how to adapt to the new world that is coming?

1. How do you stay connected
to your creative soul in a
tech world?
SALEMA VELIU
Futurologist| Digital Mental Health Consultant| Author | Keynote Speaker
Part of ‘The Future of Life & Work Series’
© 2019SALEMA VELIU

2. Why l’m writing the book and why now?
This book helps solve an increasing
global problem in the Digital Era:
How to manage Digital Distraction and
Dependency to live a life of value and
purpose by giving spiritual and scientific
hacks to live a conscious co-existence
with Technology.
To address the increasing Mental Health
disorders that are arising from living in
the Digital Matrix; stress, anxiety,
dissatisfaction, distraction and stuck-
ness people are experiencing from an
unhealthy balance of Technology
overload.
WHO NEEDS THIS?
Research is showing that Generation X
(18-39 year olds -The Millennials are
burning out quicker. With Generation Y
39-53 feeling unsatisfied, displaced and
searching for meaning.
MY AIM
To offer alternative thinking solutions
and practices (hacks) by looking at and
combining the fields of Spirituality,
Science, Psychology and AI.
Creating a fresh awareness that will
upgrade our understanding of what
makes us a Human and help us find that
connectivity and meaning that maybe
getting lost in the Digital Matrix so that
we can live a life of value by designing a
Conscious and balanced co-existence
with Technology - SOUL SAVVY.

3. Our current
relationship with
Technology & why
its’ important to
consider the
personal ,
economical and
societal implications
• The new challenges that we are facing from Technology and the
state of the world are effecting:
• The way we communicate and interact in every domain of our
lives is changing due to the constantly evolving technology.
• Our social intelligence and skills in how we interact human to
human.
• Considerations:
• Technology +the impact on Well-being
• Will the rise of technology gradually change our values and in
the process change our own feelings of self-worth?

4. What is Digital
Dependency
and
Distraction?
• FOMO (fear of missing out) a ‘technoference
syndrome’ both feeds, and is fed by, a speeding
up of life that is being driven by digital technology
(Digital distraction).
• Waiting and fearing not seeing an email or news
story (or not seeing it promptly enough), and
missing out (even briefly) on some bit of latest
information.
• Compels an increased tendency of checking of
digital devices in the process triggering low self-
esteem, addiction, obsession, anxiety, obsessive
comparison disorder.

5. The positives, negatives and challenges of
using Digital/Technology social media
Positives:
Can ignite inspiration,
creativity towards the
life we want to live.
Can be used to inform
and educate.
Negatives:
Can damage self-
esteem and self-worth
by constant
comparison to others.
Can give a false sense
of reality.

6. The Positives, Negatives and
Challenges of living with Technology
Our connection with social
media throws up some very
important questions:
Why do we feel the need to
increase our frequency of
looking at social media?
Is this reflecting a lack of
connection we’re feeling in
real life? By constantly adding
images for example of
instagram? (Unless it’s
educational in some way)
Are we searching for meaning
to lead a more fulfilling life?
Are we getting lost in the
virtual reality which makes
our human connections more
difficult?
Are we losing who we are in
the process?

7. The 4 D’s
(Disruptions) to
Inspiration
Creativity
Adaptability
Motivation
Performance
Stress & Anxiety
Distractibility, Disengagement,
Disconnection, Dissociation
All cause deficits in our ability to narrow focus,
broaden focus, sustain focus, and shift focus.

8. The hidden enemy
Algorithms have powerful implications for how we live.
Algorithms are decision-
making bits of code.
They have become an
important presence in
our lives.
Just like algorithms.
Beliefs whether
conscious or unconscious
directly influence your
life.
They make decisions
about us, and for us, all
the time and they
influence our choices,
behaviours and
interactions with others
personally and
professionally.
Chamath Palihapitiya,
former Vice President of
User Growth at
Facebook. Expressed
guilt over how “The
short-term, dopamine-
driven feedback loops
they created are
destroying how society
works.’
Highlighting that smartphones
and the social media platforms
they support are turning us
into bona fide addicts.
Algorithms to leverage
our dopamine-driven
reward circuitry, they
stack our brains against
us.
So spending less time on
your phone could help
your brain and creativity!
Doing things like disabling your
notifications for social media apps
and keeping your display in black
and white will reduce your
phone’s ability to grab and hold
your attention.

9. Digital
Effects on the
Brain:
Inspiration,
Creativity,
Motivation,
&
Performance
Dopamine functions both as a hormone and a neurotransmitter, and plays
several important roles in the brain and body. It is a molecule that our body
produces naturally, and it’s the substance inspires creativity and inspiration as
well as motivation, attention, learning, and addiction but to name a few.
Major dopamine pathways. As part of the reward pathway, dopamine is
manufactured in nerve cell bodies located within the ventral tegmental
area (VTA) and is released in the nucleus accumbens and the prefrontal cortex.
The motor functions of dopamine are linked to a separate pathway, with cell
bodies in the substantia nigra that manufacture and release dopamine into
the dorsal striatum.
VTA plays an important role in a number of processes, including cognition,
memory, reward, motivation
nucleus accumbens - learning, addiction and encoding new motor
programmes (movement for dancers)
prefrontal cortex PFC plays an important role in personality and expression
substantia nigra (SN) is a basal ganglia structure located in the midbrain that
plays an important role in reward and movement.

10. Effects of DD &
DP on the Brain
and Dopamine
in:
Inspiration
Creativity
Adaptability
Motivation
Performance
The human brain contains four major dopamine “pathways,” or connections
between different parts of the brain that act as highways for chemical
messages called neurotransmitters.
Each pathway has its own associated cognitive and motor (movement)
processes.
Dopamine is tied to your reward center, so if you don’t feel interested in
specific activities or learning certain subjects, then dopamine levels will
decrease in your prefrontal cortex. If this happens, then your brain will not
feel the motivation to remember the facts presented to you.
Three of these pathways—the mesocortical, mesolimbic, and nigrostriatal
pathways—are considered our “reward pathways” and have been shown to
be dysfunctional in most cases of addiction. They are responsible for the
release of dopamine in various parts of the brain, which shapes the activity
of those areas.

11. The Impact of
Technology on
Creativity in Design:
An Enhancement?
Nathalie Bonnardel
Franck Zenasni
First published: 10
May
2010 https://doi.org/
10.1111/j.1467-
8691.2010.00560.
Technology may be considered as an interface between individuals and the
products they create, but we have to determine whether the use of new
systems effectively enhance individuals' creative activities.
Thi paper presents a new angle of reflection that illustrates in the field of
creative design, since it is a constant challenge for designers to introduce
creativity in the projects they work on.
The approach we propose is centred on designers' cognitive processes. We
argue that both the development of new CAD (computer-aided design)
systems and their assessment should be conducted on the basis of a deep
understanding of designers' cognitive processes.
In accordance with this view, we present three empirical studies that were
conducted in order to analyse the impact of new design support systems on
designers' cognitive processes. Therefore, the results we present contribute
to further our knowledge of whether new CAD technologies effectively
facilitate designers' activities and enhance their creativity.

12. The Hidden Enemy - Digital exposure (areas of
the brain effected)
Functions of
dopamine on
creativity & attention
Dopamine allows you
to keep focused and
pay attention. It works
by responding to vision
(the optic nerves),
which causes you to
direct your attention
to any specific task or
activity.
This neurotransmitter
may be responsible for
what content stays in
your short-term
memory, a portion of
your prefrontal cortex
associated with
immediate attention.
Lack of dopamine is
characteristic in
disorders where there
is little to no
motivation.
Functions of
dopamine on
personality
One of the personality traits
that define us most is our level
of extraversion. Extraversion has
two main components: social
interaction and impulsivity. This
trait is highly dependent on
dopamine. Several studies show
that impulsive people activate
dopamine circuits quicker than
others.
RADIYYAH
HUSSEIN

13. A new set of
technology
related disorders/
behaviors that we
are facing in the
Millennials’
Generation (18-
34yr olds)
Video Game addiction +
Depression
https://www.psychguides
.com/guides/video-game-
addiction-symptoms-
causes-and-effects/
Millennials’ Biggest
Problem: Obsessive
Comparison Disorder
https://relevantmagazine.
com/life/millennials-
biggest-problem-
obsessive-comparison-
disorder
Social Media and Suicide:
A Public Health
Perspective
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih
.gov/pmc/articles/PMC34
77910/

15. I.P
Other implications of what you
post and why?
• Protecting IP BY: Discussion
• Being mindful of what you post
and why? Purpose and Value
• Self boundaries: how much are
you comfortable with sharing

16. RESEARCH
Some Key findings of the impact of Digital on the ‘always on culture’
• Almost half of 18-34 year olds said their social media
feeds made them feel unattractive.
• A study by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine
found that heavy social media users were twice as likely to
report experiencing social isolation.
• A link has been found between excessive social media use
and poor academic performance.
• The act of just receiving a notification, even if you don’t
reply to it, is enough to severely distract you.

17. Some statistics +
facts on Digital
dependency,
addiction and
WHY WE NEED TO
LOG OFF TO
PARTICIPATE IN
LIFE!
• On a daily basis what’s the average amount of hours
that UK adults spend on screens? 8hrs 41 mins
• What’s the % of people checking facebook every 10
minutes? 34%
• What % of UK children say that their parents spend too
much time on their mobile devices? 69%
• What’s the % of UK adults admitting their spend too
much time online? 43%

18. Other questions ……
Our connection with social
media throws up some very
important questions:
Why do we feel the need to
increase our frequency of
looking at social media?
Is this reflecting a lack of
connection we’re feeling in
real life? By constantly adding
images for example of
instagram? (Unless it’s
educational in some way)
Are we searching for meaning
to lead a more fulfilling life?
Are we getting lost in the
virtual reality which makes
our human connections more
difficult?
Are we losing who we are in
the process?

19. Some interesting info so far on my ongoing research on:
Managing Digital Distraction & Dependency to find a healthy balance between technology and living a life of
value and connection
Do you feel like
your part of the
always culture?
70% Yes 37% No 50% Not sure
Do you and/or your
family
30% DIGITAL DETOX
70% NO DIGITAL
DETOX
How do you feel if
you’re not
connected to your
devices
28% OK 60% GOOD
Connecting with
others
20% just virtually 30% non virtually
65% mixture of
both
60% on average are
spending 3-5 hours
just on Facebook

20. Other research on:
Spirituality + Technology - Are they linked and if so what are the connections that may give us a
greater understanding of who we are and how to adapt to the new world that is coming?
42% 18-34
Millennials ZY
42% 39-53
Generation X
14% 53+ Females 71% Males 28% 71% Spiritual
28% not
How important is
having s sense of
self in this digital
world?
85% very important
What would you
like to learn more
about?
Spirituality and the
Soul 43%
Neuroscience and
the Soul 29%
Eastern and
Western
Philosophies 29%
Do you ever about
the future with AI
30% Yes 14% No
58 % Not sure never
really thought about
it
Are you concerned
about the future of
humanity?
100% Yes

21. SO WHAT CAN YOU
DO?
How to cultivate
Digital Well-Being ?
• Is often defined in terms of the capabilities and skills that
an individual requires to successfully make use of digital
technologies.
• Some of the elements mentioned in the JISC Elements of
Digital digital well-being are:
• “The capacity to look after personal health, safety,
relationships and work-life balance in digital settings”.
• To use digital tools to pursue personal goals for health
and fitness.
• To use digital tools to participate in social and community
activities.
• To act safely and responsibly in digital environments.
• To manage digital workload, overload and distraction.
• Act with concern for the human and natural environment
when using digital tools. Awareness to your digital
footprint.

22. Cultivating
Digital Resilience,
Distraction & Regulation
• Digital resilience is part of your personality that
develops from spending time online and facing the
challenges out there. It means you recognize when
you're at risk online and what to do.
• Digital distraction & regulation is how you monitor
and manage your time effectively online.

23. Digital Wellbeing &
Regulation?
Some Possible solutions
& Tools
• One possible solution is already
available On apple smart phones
where you can monitor your
online screen time.
• Cultivate and re-learn time
management strategies using
effective time management tables
which can also been seen as a
behavioral analysis (ACT).
• YOGA,MINDFULLNESS,
MEDITATION
Dahl, J (2008) The Art and Science of Valuing in Psychotherapy: Helping Clients Discover, Explore, and Commit to Valued Action Using Acceptance and
Commitment Therapy
Why do I do what I do?
Day / Time Activity
Function
Avoidance of
something negative
Short-term fix with
something positive
Pliance (Self-Governing
rule of judgement)
Genuine Positive
Reinforcement
(Values-based)
E.g. Wed 8pm
Look at Facebook
Feeling restless and
irritable from the day
Feel excited about
seeing what others are
up to
If I sit down to relax, I’ll
only feel worse. Better
to do something
Provides a way to
connect with my friends

25. How to connect and
work with me
• SURVEY LINKS:
• https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RSP2G
9D
• https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MX85
3NC
• LinkedIn: Salema Veliu
• Instagram: Salema Veliu SoulSavvy
• Facebook Group: The Soul Savvy
Collective for Facebook lives
• www.salemaveliu.org for workshops,
presentations, trainings and private
sessions