From infancy, humans are tasked with growing and adapting to the world around them through a cycle of trial and error. Each time a child falls attempting to walk for the first time, they are learning and developing the motor skills they need to one day do it without thinking. The same applies to speaking, writing and even thinking itself, as well as almost every other task.
Occasionally, actual or metaphorical training wheels will be added and should be added when necessary. When riding a bike, it’s important to first develop the ability to pedal and steer simultaneously before the more complex aspect of balance. Falling off a bike can cause serious bodily harm, especially to a smaller child, making the training wheels necessary.
A recent trend weaving its way into the lives of college students and young professionals is the use of Artificial Intelligence to add training wheels to their ability to perform tasks. Some are as specific as answering a question on homework, but more broadly, AI is diminishing the ability to think critically.
This phenomenon is shown in a study by Michael Gerlich at SBS Swiss Business School, which points to cognitive offloading — a process of using external tools to reduce cognitive demand – as the premier factor in the erosion of critical thinking. Non-AI examples of cognitive offloading include using a cheat sheet on a test or inventing a shorthand code to make studying easier.
The necessity of critical thinking is something people rely on to navigate the world. In an increasingly divisive political climate, nationally and globally, it is a necessity to break up, compartmentalize and correctly understand the moments we live through.
The practiced process of trial and error we use to develop skills is something we lose over time. A leading proponent is the global organization of the economy: capitalism. For the U.S 's diminishing working class, the latter portion of trial and error is treated not as a necessity to the process, but as a failure of it.
Though eliminating the failures is impossible for anyone alone, it is pointed out as the reason many won’t see the pay raise they deserve, the vacation days a part of their benefits or even the ability to purchase a house or car. Thus, AI is turned to eliminate the failures, punching the question in and spitting out an answer, leaving little work for the human in front of the screen to do or process themselves.
Scrolling through the app X, owned by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, frustratingly proves this. Countless users on posts big and small ask the site’s own AI chatbot “Grok,” to explain a post, simple or complex, to them in a dialect patterned to the user’s understanding.
Another issue blooming from this is the ease of manipulation AI is subject to. Occasionally, a user will simply get the chatbot to concede on a point with no factual basis. Other times, the bot is simply incorrect and believed to be right. More malevolently, though, is the malicious feeding of incorrect information into the code of these AI chatbots X users have noticed developing.
Two weeks ago, Grok began to falsely claim “white genocide” was occurring in South Africa – Musk’s country of origin – with no prompting related to the matter. Although the issue with this artificial obsession, true or false, is plain, the topic of “white genocide” in South Africa has become a mainstream talking point in political spheres, with many believing the false, biased narratives fed to them despite the easy and accessible debunking of such claims.
It’s a damning example of the erosion of critical thinking. It isn’t the user’s fault, however. It’s capitalism’s for belittling and dismantling the inherently human trait of learning through doing and failing. Through capitalism’s force-feeding of AI into every facet of daily life, a more malleable generation has begun to form. AI has its uses, but this sinister application has massively destructive implications.
Logan Adams is a senior studying journalism. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnist do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Logan know by tweeting him @LoganPAdams.
