5 Comments
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Tina Rahman's avatar

This is a very important point: how people are offload cognitively will differ. Sometimes some people want to talk to others. Others want to forget about it and do something that occupies them, and for me, I love to journal.

David Cycleback's avatar

Before the cellphone, I would always carry a notebook and pen to jot down ideas.

Tina Rahman's avatar

Those were the good old days.

Pat's avatar

Yes, AI can be another great tool to cognitively offload and even expand our knowledge——but only if you have the background knowledge to make use of it. As you noted, it will be valuable only if it is used to “compliment knowledge, not replace it.” My fear is that we usually take the path of resistance, so a lot of people will simply stop trying to understand enough to even gain the rudimentary knowledge necessary for advancing. Mariano identified the need for background knowledge for higher order thinking, but it will be easier and quicker to just rely on AI. Hope can we prevent that with this ubiquitous shortcut?

David Cycleback's avatar

Agree. For example, students learning how to write and compose essays "by hand" are an important part of learning how to think and communicate about topics and ideas. AI in the learning process in particular potential problem.