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Technical Crutches - good or bad or necessary evil?

dougw

When I started thinking about these 2 questions, I started noticing how insidiously these technologies are influencing our lives.

1) Will the internet kill human learning?

The vast information available on the Internet started out as a game changing resource to learn from. However, increasingly it has become a disincentive to learn. Why bother to learn it if you can just Google it? This has benefits and drawbacks which are debatable but to highlight one aspect, I want to ask this question:

  • Are you impressed when you come across someone who has actual knowledge rather than virtual knowledge?

I find myself surprised sometimes when somebody actually knows something that I wouldn't expect them to learn. Does this happen to you?

Do you find that the generations that grew up with the internet, are more dependent on it or use it differently from the older generations?

2) Will AI kill human thinking?

Productivity expectations are increasing to the the extent that use of generative AI is necessary just to get the job done on time.

  • Are you more impressed by someone who creates content without using generative AI, versus someone who uses AI all the time?

Do you think of generative AI as cheating? Or less valuable? Or generic frivolous Pablum? Or a boon to save time and effort?

The internet can be a disincentive to learn. Is this true?

Generative AI can be a disincentive to think. Is this true?

How many of you automatically ask ChatGPT these questions before formulating your own answer?

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  • dougw said:
    1) Will the internet kill human learning?

    It all depends on what you define as learning. Is it merely the process of memorizing theory or facts, or is it the process of understanding how to apply this data or "knowledge". Personally I view computers and Internet are great storehouses of information. So, good for memory. All you have to do it recognize if the data has changed when you last referred to it.

    So IMHO, Internet and computers have disincentivized the need to memorize. Nothing more. As to whether I'm impressed by someone who can regurgitate what is already online. Not so much. Am I impressed by someone who can actually apply what is found online. Very much so.

    dougw said:
    2) Will AI kill human thinking?

    It's a little too early to tell, but based on what I've seen over the years, presenting a response in a highly structured format gives the illusion that something must be correct. The danger lies in how it summarizes vast amounts of data. It's hard to determine how much bias is in the summary given. So despite this obvious danger, I think AI will certainly influence human thinking rather than kill it. That's assuming people will still apply a small degree of skepticism to what they actually read.

    So far, I've found a number of areas where AI is really useful though. Firstly using it to appraise what you are actually after, in terms of creating a project requirements spec. It is fantastic at picking out assumptions you've made when describing something. This helps you firm up the detail.

    Then another area it really helps with is learning. I'm discovering that it is really good at breaking down a stumbling block. By simply asking AI to do something it provides you with a starting point to work from, even if it is not correct. I am learning so much quicker through this process as it is easier to learn from mistakes.

    In summary, I think us older, wiser folk benefit more from AI than the younger folk, as it is good at doing grunt work, which can sometime be tiresome to do, but you need the experience and knowledge to discern if it is providing you with rubbish.

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  • dougw said:
    1) Will the internet kill human learning?

    It all depends on what you define as learning. Is it merely the process of memorizing theory or facts, or is it the process of understanding how to apply this data or "knowledge". Personally I view computers and Internet are great storehouses of information. So, good for memory. All you have to do it recognize if the data has changed when you last referred to it.

    So IMHO, Internet and computers have disincentivized the need to memorize. Nothing more. As to whether I'm impressed by someone who can regurgitate what is already online. Not so much. Am I impressed by someone who can actually apply what is found online. Very much so.

    dougw said:
    2) Will AI kill human thinking?

    It's a little too early to tell, but based on what I've seen over the years, presenting a response in a highly structured format gives the illusion that something must be correct. The danger lies in how it summarizes vast amounts of data. It's hard to determine how much bias is in the summary given. So despite this obvious danger, I think AI will certainly influence human thinking rather than kill it. That's assuming people will still apply a small degree of skepticism to what they actually read.

    So far, I've found a number of areas where AI is really useful though. Firstly using it to appraise what you are actually after, in terms of creating a project requirements spec. It is fantastic at picking out assumptions you've made when describing something. This helps you firm up the detail.

    Then another area it really helps with is learning. I'm discovering that it is really good at breaking down a stumbling block. By simply asking AI to do something it provides you with a starting point to work from, even if it is not correct. I am learning so much quicker through this process as it is easier to learn from mistakes.

    In summary, I think us older, wiser folk benefit more from AI than the younger folk, as it is good at doing grunt work, which can sometime be tiresome to do, but you need the experience and knowledge to discern if it is providing you with rubbish.

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