Maybe I am paranoid but will AI make us dumber? Let me share an analogy.
As a kid, I don’t remember seeing too many obese people. When I used to visit my village during summer vacations, almost nobody appeared overweight. And yet, there was no gym in the village. Nor were people doing marathons or triathlons.
But they didn’t have to. The strenuous nature of work in the farm kept them fit.
Even in the cities, obesity was not too prevalent because life had no conveniences. Cleaning the house, washing clothes, walking/biking to office – everything required physical exertion. (Fun fact: Making dosa batter using stone grinders was better than a CrossFit workout)
With modern appliances, most of it is now gone. End result? Obesity.
So here is my question: Will AI do to our mind what the modern conveniences did to our body?
Today, even to write a formal email or a proposal, we need to think, synthesize ideas, and figure out what to write. Going forward, we will just give AI a prompt.
When the mental strain of grappling with ideas, ambiguity, and structure is gone, will it make us ‘intellectually obese’? Will we have to create ‘mental gyms’ to keep us mentally fit?
What do you think?
– Rajan