We're Not Robots

(NEW! This article has narration and extra insight from Jeni! Listen to it like a podcast!)

(...also, I took so long recording this that I am not making pictures to embed into the article right away. Maybe later. Listen to me and go stare at something amazing instead.)

With all the chatter lately about artificial intelligence and algorithms learning to do everything under the sun, it is incredibly grounding to remember that our work is the ultimate un-hackable human experience. When Massage Therapists talk about deep tissue work the conversation almost always gravitates toward pressure. We tend to look at the body like a series of levers and pulleys, where a machine could just dial up the weight to force a release... but anyone who has spent real time on a massage table knows that AI can never replace us.

An algorithm or a robot can’t decipher the complex living biotensegrity of the person underneath it. It has no way of understanding that bones are really just islands of compression floating in a continuous sea of fascial tension... or how to process the profound and silent conversation of sensations happening on either side of the foot. It definitely can’t allow for two nervous systems to touch and sync up with each other.