Australians are speaking less

Between 2005 and 2019, Australians lost an average of 338 spoken words each day. That totals 120,000 spoken words per person compared with the year before.

AI promises empathy but threatens listening

While AI tools and chatbots promise faster responses and so-called empathetic listening, oral historian Shirleene Robinson warns that our greatest loss might be our ability to listen to different views and enter different worlds.

Language is culture and identity

Language tells us who we are. Between 2018 and early 2024, Robinson led a team at the National Library of Australia responsible for the largest oral history collection in the southern hemisphere, which began in 1957 and now consists of more than 58,000 hours of recording.

“Language is culture. It tells us who we are.”

Voices from Australia's past

The collection holds accounts of First Nations Australians speaking about deep history and first-person memories reaching back into the nineteenth century. Robinson has listened to thousands of Australians from different eras, places and backgrounds tell their stories in their own words.

What listening teaches us

When Robinson listens to an oral history, she immerses herself in the life of someone she will likely never meet. In a world where social circles are reducing due to distance, remote work and increasing time online, hearing from someone different is precious.

Listening builds empathy and connection

Listening to people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives who may not hold the same views can improve mental and physical wellbeing, foster the exchange of information, grow understanding and spark new ideas. It is deeply linked to building empathy.

“Listening to other people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives who may not hold the same views as us can improve our mental and physical wellbeing”

The cost of losing empathy

Empathy is the richest gift listening offers. By engaging with experiences of others without requiring instant gratification and artificial agreement, we enter into others' lives, grow patient, appreciate difference and learn we can disagree without being destructive.

“Empathy is the richest gift listening offers. That will be our greatest loss if we speak and hear less.”