Should We Let AI Think for Us?

"One could argue there's in fact everything wrong with letting ChatGPT "think" for us. The aquiescence of humanness is contributing to the dumbing down of humanity and the willful erosion of critical thinking and creativity. People everywhere---including young people who are dedicating four years of their lives to learning how to think (i.e., college students)---are increasingly using large language models (LLMs like ChatGPT) to think, write, and doeverything for them."

"In a recent meeting on campus about student use of AI, the presenter showed a chart indicating that "only 3%" of college students use AI to complete assignments (my students laughed at that stat when I told them) and a whopping 75% use it to "brainstorm" only, which the presenter lauded as good news. I don't know whether other audience members were silently objecting to the implied takeaway---that using ChatGPT to brainstorm is acceptable---but my brain was in avid protest mode."

"Of all the population subsets in the world, college students are typically young people who have committed themselves to four years of learning, thinking, and writing in order to flourish in life. The purpose of college has evolved over the last century, and many people will object to the oversimplification I've offered here. But perhaps we can all agree that opting for a college education means that the person wants to learn something. And, I would argue, learning begins with brainstorming."

Using ChatGPT to brainstorm undermines students' development of original ideas, critical thinking, and creativity. The acquiescence of humanness contributes to the dumbing down of humanity and the willful erosion of critical thinking and creativity. Many young people, including college students dedicating years to learning how to think, increasingly rely on large language models to think, write, and do everything for them. Campus data showing only 3% use AI to complete assignments but 75% use it to brainstorm has been framed as positive, yet treating brainstorming as acceptable outsourcing bypasses the cognitive practice that initiates learning and creative work.

Read at Psychology Today