The Dark Side Of AI: Tracking The Decline Of Human Cognitive Skills

[Nevilledog]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/chriswestfall/2024/12/18/the-dark-side-of-ai-tracking-the-decline-of-human-cognitive-skills/

No paywall link
https://archive.li/gcJcO


The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought about numerous innovations that have revolutionized industries, from healthcare and education to finance and entertainment. However, alongside the seemingly limitless capabilities of ChatGPT and friends, we find a less-discussed consequence: the gradual decline of human cognitive skills. Unlike earlier tools such as calculators and spreadsheets, which made specific tasks easier without fundamentally altering our ability to think, AI is reshaping the way we process information and make decisions, often diminishing our reliance on our own cognitive abilities.

AI: A Double-Edged Sword for Human Cognitive Skills

Tools like calculators and spreadsheets were designed to assist in specific tasks—such as arithmetic and data analysis—without fundamentally altering the way our brains process information. In fact, these tools still require us to understand the basics of the tasks at hand. For example, you need to understand what the formula does, and what output you are seeking, before you type it into Excel.
While these tools simplified calculations, they did not erode our ability to think critically or engage in problem-solving - the tools simply made life easier. AI, on the other hand, is more complex in terms of its offerings - and cognitive impact. As AI becomes more prevalent, effectively “thinking” for us, scientists and business leaders are concerned about the larger effects on our cognitive skills.

Declining Cognitive Skills in Education

The effects of AI on cognitive development are already being felt in schools across the United States. A 2023 study published in the Journal of Educational Psychology found that students who relied heavily on AI for writing assignments performed worse on tests that required independent thought and reasoning compared to students who completed assignments without AI assistance. This suggests that the use of AI in academic settings is not just an issue of convenience, but may be contributing to a decline in critical thinking skills. The National Institute of Health cites similar concerns, as well as mentioning that attention spans will be shortened by relying too much on AI.

Furthermore, educational experts argue that AI's increasing role in learning environments risks undermining the development of problem-solving abilities. Students are increasingly being taught to accept AI-generated answers without fully understanding the underlying processes or concepts. As AI becomes more ingrained in education, there is a concern that future generations may lack the capacity to engage in deeper intellectual exercises, relying on algorithms instead of their own analytical skills.

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[SheltieLover]

1. K&R

[allegorical oracle]

2. Thank you for this article. Have been asserting this ever since my sentences began

to be completed for me in venues like DU. Our communication skills are dulling down. Diagraming a sentence or conjugating a verb have become lost tools.

[Orrex]

3. If men learn this, it will implant forgetfulness in their souls

They will cease to exercise memory because they rely on that which is written, calling things to remembrance no longer from within themselves, but by means of external marks. What you have discovered is a recipe not for memory, but for reminder. And it is no true wisdom that you offer your disciples, but only its semblance, for by telling them of many things without teaching them you will make them seem to know much, while for the most part they know nothing, and as men filled, not with wisdom, but with the conceit of wisdom, they will be a burden to their fellows.

[keithbvadu2]

4. Not a problem as long as Dotard can recognize an elephant on his cognitive tests.

[keithbvadu2]

5. Student does not want AI.

Link to tweet

[allegorical oracle]

8. Nailed it. nt

[4dog]

6. Intelligence was not part of the design, it's a marketing term.

Large language models can give you good grammar, including mistakes, lies, and "hallucinations." Truth may happen, or not. Machine learning is a different animal, with promise in medicine and elsewhere.

[Blappy]

7. I'd argue that AI represents only concepts of knowledge or creativity;

The process of knowing and creating are only mimicked by AI and the resulting output has only a facsimile of meaning that can be applied toward true meaning by one with knowledge.

[Blue_Tires]

9. Oh, so people really didn't think there would be a downside

To letting computers do all our thinking and creating for us?!

Where are those "e/acc" fuckwits now?

[Mr.Bill]

10. I will repeat for the umpteenth time,

Artificial Intelligence is an oxymoron.

[spapeggy]

11. Ask somebody to get from point A to point B

They can’t do it. Our phones don’t service us, we service them as little consumer portals.

[Katnip.]

12. We've been on the decline for a while

Even before AI, with the ubiquity of cell phones.....

I know a lot of people who can't watch a 90 minute movie without using their phone. Others who struggle to read an uncomplicated novel in a reasonable span of time. AI has made it all worse. How many teenagers go to college and don't even know how to write a paper?

It's a shame. My father grew up in poverty but always had a thirst for knowledge and worked his a*s off to be successful. We have so much knowledge at our disposal and yet we're declining.

Lots of places, kids don't have any access. Forget about computers, they can't get books, they don't have safe places to learn, they have few options. Some have none. I wish people would recognize how fortunate they are and not waste what is at their fingertips.