We’ve seen the movies where robots have taken over the world and enslaved the human race. It seemed like a far-fetched fantasy only a few short years ago. Now, A.I. has come to conquer and destroy — our minds, that is.
The first thing we need to know is, A.I. is everywhere. It is convenient and easily accessible to a large majority of the public. Workplaces have implemented A.I. automations into their workflows. Schools have given permission for students to use A.I. on assignments. Large language models have even evolved so much that people have entered “relationships” with them.
In this digital age, it’s practically impossible that the average adult or student hasn’t interacted with A.I. whether it be intentionally or not.
Yes, A.I. can be helpful in research efforts or increasing accessibility of information. However, according to MIT’s N. Hulscher, the consistent use of A.I. has been directly linked to cognitive decline in regular users materialized by weakened memory, lessened sense of ownership over thoughts and low neural connectivity.
This phenomenon, known as cognitive offloading, has taken the critical thinking component of everyday tasks away from the individual and into the hands of a program.
So, what happens when cognitive offloading becomes the norm? Joe Pierre, M.D. writes our ability for critical thinking diminishes and we become cognitively lazy. The inability to work through a problem on our own may leave us mentally stranded when A.I. tools are not readily available. The earlier people learn to rely on A.I. for tasks, the less chance they have to develop a true understanding of the issues they are facing in the first place.
A.I. only works when people have the skills to analyze generated responses and judge their validity. Being able to recognize and correct biases and inaccuracies are a critical component in ethical A.I. use.
There also must be awareness of the lack of cultural considerations of responses when relying on information from A.I. models. Understanding diverse perspectives on an issue is important when trying to apply responses to real-world scenarios. Without doing so, people risk being culturally incompetent and may share a perspective they don’t actually align with.
Combating the cognitive decline associated with the use of A.I. should be of high priority for everyone. One way in which the U.S. Army is tackling the use of A.I. is by encouraging and rewarding group leaders to promote environments where cognitive thinking is the foundation of problem solving.
They highlight the importance of giving soldiers the proper tools and training to maintain their intellectual fitness and develop new skills.
Increased accessibility to educational resources, comprehensive regulation and heavy promotion of critical thinking is just the beginning in combating A.I. induced cognitive offloading.
Sazjia Washington a Lamar University graduate student