Short Thoughts

Commenting AI will make our children stupid: We are creating a terrible learning environment for the young

The line of thinking expressed in the article:

• IQ is declining
• Attention spans weakening
• AI allows children to outsource their thinking entirely
• They possess the answer but lack the understanding of how it was derived
• Those in authority believe exams need to be abolished in order to embrace AI
• The process of writing is itself constitutive of understanding. Writing is thinking.
• Learning requires friction

The article paints a bleak future. My thoughts, pushing back on their position:

• It seems for a few generations now that prior generations have been concerned about the softening of the younger generation. To me generations are different, but are still capable.
• Each person will leverage AI is a jagged manner. Each will outsource some portion of their thinking. Some will do so to a concerning amount, and to their detriment. My concern is that the advantaged will more responsibly do so, because of oversight and training.
• Education does need to change. Many have thought so for a longtime. But for a variety of reasons eduction is either slow or resistant to change. AI may force the change to occur.
• Friction is core to learning, but learning is even better it it is hard fun.
• Humans have adapted amazingly well to the changes and different environments we have found ourselves in. Granted, we haven’t done so perfectly, and the price at times is costly, but we continue forward. That won’t always be the case, but I’m optimistic we will continue to adapt and leverage AI to obtain even more amazing progress.