Short Thoughts

Replying to “You have 18 months” The real deadline isn’t when AI outsmarts us — it’s when we stop using our own minds.

And I am much more concerned about the decline of thinking people than I am about the rise of thinking machines.

I’m not precisely concerned about this. I don’t believe my thinking has declined since using these tools. Maybe they have in some trivial ways. But I believe my thinking has become more active as a result of these tools, because I am able to explore and ask questions, to investigate in ways I either was not able to before, or at least not as easily.

My concern is that there will be a division between people on how they use these tools. One side’s thinking will decline, while the other side’s thinking will be enhanced, which will lead to a further imbalance in society. It appears the statistics he references support this, the declines he reports are not coming from those who already reported as high.

The author later he answers the question about what kids should study:

While I don’t know what field any particular student should major in, I do feel strongly about what skill they should value: It’s the very same skill that I see in decline. It’s the patience to read long and complex texts; to hold conflicting ideas in our heads and enjoy their dissonance

While I do not entirely agree with his phrasing, or at least I am uncertain with how he phrased it, I do believe being able to work with conflicting ideas is an important skill. Perhaps if someone “enjoys” the dissonance they become energized and thrive in these situations. And so maybe the language is not too strong. But at the minimum I have found being able to wrestle with conflicting ideas to be an important life skill.