heyWhatsayProfessors Say AI Is Destroying Their Students' Ability to Think
ImmersiveMatthewIs it though? Like is it really? I have not seen a credible study yet and from at least my personal experience and those around me, it seems like it helps people learn better?
Teacher here. It’s not that they can’t think, its that they don’t want the take the time to think and learn.
Nothing new there.
Yes, the so-called AI, they even may believe it can think for themselves.
It can think for itself of course, just not to the level most humans can yet but it has for sure been slowly improving. Unsure if it will ever be fully able to really think for itself at the level of most humans but I suspect we will eventually crack it and get very close to that goal.
I don’t think we share the definition of “thinking”, but that wasn’t even the point.
Sure. We can have different definitions of thinking and we can disagree that AI in its current form even thinks at all. It is all very debatable as it for aure gives the illusion of thinking and even has moments that are very convincing, but then later you realize it really does not understand what it thinks up. It just knows the pattern and predictions and not really the content itself which really makes you wonder if it really is thinking at all to your point I suspect. I can see your point if so, but thinking seems like a spectrum of traits and as far as my experience, LLMs showcase some thinking, just not nearly enough. Still very impressive all the same despite the hallucinations and odd errors.
But if I missed your point, could you please rephrase.
Yes, that’s more or less my point of view about AI. The message I was trying to convey is the dangerous educational, pedagogical path that kids and teenagers may take allowing “AI” to “think” for themselves, i. e. using different LLMs and even real AIs as a go-to shortcut for any problem or task that needs to be solved. Social digital platforms have already socially and emotionally impaired them as a generation, in my opinion. While I can recognize the generational differences in cohorts, this feels damaging, as smoking was for boomers.
True, but the resistance to think is more than it was ten years ago when I started teaching.
Have you noticed that while perhaps the majority are learning less due to tech, some are excelling more?
Not as far as I can tell. The curriculum is more rigorous where I am than it was when I was a kid, but the output isn’t better. Maybe on par if they really try.
There is something new, actually: ease of access.
Cannot disagree there, but that accessibility does come with the benefit that you can also choose to learn not just cheat.