This paper proposes and examines a historical regularity: when technology eliminates a natural form of human activity, markets inevitably generate an “artificial compensatory industry” to meet the biological or psychological needs that persist.
Based on this framework, the emergence of the modern fitness industry and the modern entertainment industry were not accidents or cultural trends, but structural outcomes of the Industrial Revolution and modern media revolutions.
By comparing the historical transition from agricultural to modern societies—specifically the transformations from physical labor → fitness industry, and from ritual life → entertainment industry—this paper develops a Substitution–Compensation Industrial Model.
Using this model, the paper argues that AI’s takeover of cognitive labor will cause humans to lose natural cognitive load and meaning-making processes. This will trigger a third substitution–compensation cycle: the rise of the Mind–Body–Spirit Industry, built around heart-mind labor, psychological resilience, emotional regulation, self-awareness, and meaning construction.
Drawing from exercise physiology, media history, sociology, technological anthropology, and labor philosophy, this paper further projects the likely structure and scale of this emerging industry.
Mind–Body–Spirit Industry; Heart-Mind Labor; Fitness Industry; Entertainment Industry; Technological Anthropology; AI Labor Substitution
Technology Substitution and the “Historical Generation Function” of Compensatory Industries**
The core hypothesis of this paper is:
Industrial formation is driven by three forces:
(1) technology eliminates a pre-existing natural human activity;
(2) biological or psychological needs persist;
(3) markets create artificial substitutes to meet these needs.
The interaction of these forces produces new, structured industries.
This can be expressed as the Substitution–Compensation Industrial Model.
As historian E. P. Thompson argues, the Industrial Revolution shifted human labor from “task-based rhythms” to “clock-based labor discipline,” while mechanization replaced most forms of physical labor (Thompson, 1967).
Daily life in agrarian societies involved:
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics historical records, 75% of American workers engaged in physical labor in 1870; this fell below 25% by 1970.
In short, the natural ecological context of physical labor disappeared.
WHO (2019) reports:
Exercise physiology research (Booth et al., Nature, 2012) demonstrates:
“The human body evolved for continuous movement.”
Industrial technology removed the natural context for movement, but the biological need for movement remained.
The fitness industry emerged as a structured, artificial replacement for lost physical labor.
Its formation followed clear trajectories:
Certification systems (NASM, ACE, NSCA) created full career pathways.
Nike, Adidas, and other corporations became hundred-billion-dollar brands—essentially redesigning physical labor as modern fashion and lifestyle.
Devices like Apple Watch, WHOOP, and Garmin form a digital feedback infrastructure for artificial exercise.
Fitness growth coincided with the explosion of “healthy eating”:
GWI (2023) places the global healthy eating and nutrition market at USD 1.65 trillion.
The fitness industry is not a lifestyle upgrade, but:
a physiological compensation system, created because technology removed natural physical labor.
In agrarian civilizations, “spiritual consumption” centered on:
These forms were limited by:
Entertainment could not yet become an industry.
French media historian P. Robert notes that:
“The socialization of modern entertainment began in 1830s Paris.”
A key moment:
This marked the commercial birth of mass entertainment (Thérenty & Vaillant, 2001).
In Britain, Charles Dickens’ serialized publication (Hayward, 1997):
Technological waves (printing, film, radio, television, internet, AIGC) industrialized spiritual stimulation by replacing traditional cultural functions:
TechnologyReplaced traditional functionSerialized pressLongform storytelling ritualsCinemaCollective dramatic experienceRadioOral culture and communal listeningTelevisionFamily ritualsInternetCommunity & identityAIGCPersonalized narrative construction
Thus, the entertainment industry represents:
a cultural compensation system for modernity’s loss of shared spiritual activity.
AI systems are increasingly taking over:
This creates two consequences:
Information overload and algorithmic stimuli weaken sustained attention (Carr, 2010).
Cognitive labor was historically a key source of meaning (Arendt, 1958).
Studies show:
Thus:
The human mind must “stay active” or it degenerates.
The stronger AI becomes, the more fragile humans become.
To compensate for the disappearance of natural cognitive labor, society will build structured substitutes:
Cognitive FunctionCompensatory Industry ModuleAttentionfocus-training apps; breathwork systemsEmotional balancecoaching; mindfulness; therapy-adjacent modalitiesStress recoverymeditation spaces; “heart-mind gyms”Meaning-makingspiritual growth courses; philosophical counselingSelf-awarenessAI mental assistants; life-logging systemsSocial connectionrelational workshops; group processes
This mirrors the fitness industry:
AI eliminates cognitive labor → markets construct “heart-mind labor spaces.”
Based on growth rates in:
we project:
By 2035, the Mind–Body–Spirit economy will reach USD 3.5–5 trillion,
equivalent to the combined scale of the global fitness + entertainment industries.
Structural Forces Make the Mind–Body–Spirit Industry Historically Inevitable**
The fitness industry teaches us:
Technology substituted physical labor → fitness became physiological compensation.
The entertainment industry teaches us:
Technology substituted ritual life → media became cultural compensation.
The AI era teaches us:
Technology substitutes cognitive labor → the Mind–Body–Spirit industry will become mental compensation.
This emergence is not a cultural trend, nor a commercial gimmick.
It is the next structural infrastructure of human civilization.
The Mind–Body–Spirit industry will form the spiritual and psychological foundation of the Post-AI era.
Booth, F. W., et al. (2012). Lack of exercise is harmful to health. Nature.
Thompson, E. P. (1967). Time, Work-Discipline & Industrial Capitalism.
Global Wellness Institute (2024). Global Wellness Economy Monitor.
Thérenty, M., & Vaillant, A. (2001). La Civilisation du Journal.
Hayward, J. (1997). Dickens and the Media.
Carr, N. (2010). The Shallows.
Arendt, H. (1958). The Human Condition.
Steger, M. (2012). Meaning in Life.
WHO (2019). Physical Activity Fact Sheet.
.png){kind=icon}
