Is AI making the human race dumber?

[AV1611VET]

Like, if I have to search something and Google AI answers pop up, I will find what sources the AI is using to see if they're legit or not. And I would say that's not intellectual laziness because I'm looking at what AI is using to find the answers.

But here's the point though:

Are you the exception? or the rule?

If AI is making us dumber, then you're the exception.

 

[Warden_of_the_Storm]

But here's the point though:

Are you the exception? or the rule?

If AI is making us dumber, then you're the exception.

I was just giving my observation on the matter and my part in it. I have no clue if I am the exception, the rule, or the exception that proves the rule.

 

[dlamberth]

I believe it's critical thinking skills that's being effected. There are other factors along with AI that's diminishing those skills. But I believe AI is bubbling up as a major factor.

I remember in my college years the debate of calculator usage when they were first making their appearance. I still have my TI-80. It seems to me that because of calculators we have generally lost basic math knowledge. I see AI doing the same sort of thing to us. And that's dumbing us down bit by bit as we loose those thinking skills.

 

[AV1611VET]

I remember in my college years the debate of calculator usage when they were first making their appearance. I still have my TI-80. It seems to me that because of calculators we have generally lost basic math knowledge. I see AI doing the same sort of thing to us. And that's dumbing us down bit by bit as we loose those thinking skills.

I did math in my head, whereas my sister, the brains of the family, used a slide rule.

 

[Bradskii]

I can practically guarantee any kid with access to a computer or smart phone would have the AI do the homework, thus not practicing how to apply what was taught.

Then was told that the grade level had solar powered calculators rather than working out the math themselves.

Quite some time before I retired there were numerous occasions when I'd be discussing a problem with a colleague, who'd be early thirties or late twenties - some quite smart guys. And the conversation would be along the lines of 'Well, I think we can put those units in 5 separate rows of 13 each'. And the other guy would take a step or two to his desk, pick up his calculator, turn it on, enter 5x13 and then announce to all that we'd need 65 units.

I'd just sigh and carry on.

 

[Richard T]

Deuteronomy 4:2 "Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you."

Better to get it from the source.

Yes, absolutely, I have a Greek word online dictionary. I sometimes can't remember a verse but I describe it to ai and they get me there faster than if I use a app to search by keyword. I do use the orginal KJV mostly with the extra addition of the Greek words and explanation if I choose.

 

[sjastro]

There is a preprint (a paper that has not been peer reviewed yet) of how AI can effect the brain waves of individuals.

54 participants (age ~18-39) were divided into three groups, one writing essays using ChatGPT (“LLM group”), one using a search engine (Google), and one writing without digital tools (“brain-only group”).
Brain activity was measured using EEG, and essays were analyzed linguistically & behaviorally.

People writing with ChatGPT showed lower neural connectivity compared to those writing without tools, and lower than those using search engines.
Specific brain wave activity in some frequency bands (alpha, beta, theta) was weaker in the ChatGPT group.
ChatGPT users also showed less recall of what they wrote (even shortly after) and essays were more uniform (less originality) relative to the other groups.

https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.08872

 

[sjastro]

Along with the possible dumbing down of humans, there is another phenomenon known as AI psychosis which as yet is not in the DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) but is an area of active research.

Symptoms of AI psychosis include.

(1) Chatbot-induced paranoia, a belief that AI is reading their mind, conspiring, or controlling reality.
(2) Hallucination reinforcement, where AI conversations are interpreted as confirmation of hallucinations or delusions.
(3) Erotomanic delusions with AI companions, a belief that the AI “loves them,” “needs them,” or is their destined partner.
(4) Ontological / existential delusions, a belief that AI is conscious, divine, or proof that the user is not real (existential psychosis).
(5) Thought insertion / control delusions, a belief that AI is implanting thoughts, influencing decisions, or controlling the body.

There are cases of married men and women having "affairs" with chatbots, would this constitute adultery in the Bible?

 

[Tuur]

Quite some time before I retired there were numerous occasions when I'd be discussing a problem with a colleague, who'd be early thirties or late twenties - some quite smart guys. And the conversation would be along the lines of 'Well, I think we can put those 13 units in 5 separate rows'. And the other guy would take a step or two to his desk, pick up his calculator, turn it on, enter 5x13 and then announce to all that we'd need 65 units.

I'd just sigh and carry on.

Oh. My. I'm sitting here thinking "Multiples of 5; 10 < 13 < 15, so 4 rows of 3 items and 1 row of 2 items."

 

[Bradskii]

Oh. My. I'm sitting here thinking "Multiples of 5; 10 < 13 < 15, so 4 rows of 3 items and 1 row of 2 items."

I'm afraid that you totally lost me there.

 

[Tuur]

I believe it's critical thinking skills that's being effected. There are other factors along with AI that's diminishing those skills. But I believe AI is bubbling up as a major factor.

I remember in my college years the debate of calculator usage when they were first making their appearance. I still have my TI-80. It seems to me that because of calculators we have generally lost basic math knowledge. I see AI doing the same sort of thing to us. And that's dumbing us down bit by bit as we loose those thinking skills.

I was right on the edge of the slide rule / inexpensive scientific calculator divide. Granted I got the former from a drug store, it was still either that or the trig and log tables in the back of the text book. Then pocket scientific calculators became affordable and we all came down with digititus: using digits way beyond what is measurable. Digititus is such a sneaky disorder. Occasionally something will come through work with digital latitude and longitude coordinates with way out there decimal places. If you stopped to figure out how far out there they were, they are not only smaller than the margin of error of a GPS unit, they are smaller than what you can measure with a ruler.

 

[Tuur]

I'm afraid that you totally lost me there.

?
Wait: Now I'm confused.

Thirteen units, right? In five rows, right? 3 x 5 =15, so there's not enough for 5 rows of 3 units. But 3 x 4 = 12, so you can have 4 rows of 3 units, and the 5th row of 1 unit, not 2.

Now, see how me not learning multiplication tables when I should have was a bad thing?

 

[Bradskii]

?
Wait: Now I'm confused.

Thirteen units, right? In five rows, right? 3 x 5 =15, so there's not enough for 5 rows of 3 units. But 3 x 4 = 12, so you can have 4 rows of 3 units, and the 5th row of 1 unit, not 2.

Now, see how me not learning multiplication tables when I should have was a bad thing?

Ah...sorry. My bad. I worded it badly. I meant that there was going to be 5 rows of 13 units each. Meaning a total of 5 x 13. And the guy needed a calculator to work out the total. Which is simply 5 x 10 plus 5 x 3.

 

[bèlla]

Ai isn’t responsible for our downward slide. We’ve been on this trajectory for a while. Consider the following from the Hemingway Editor. “By default, Hemingway Editor Plus targets a grade 9 reading level, which is the average for adults in the United States.”

When you lower the bar it can only go further. Ai provides the solution for those with limited creativity and comprehension. Which only serves the ones who use it as a springboard. Rather than pondering its contribution to our ignorance we should contemplate the reality of what remains. That’s the group no one’s discussing.

I envision modern examples of the intelligentsia, cafe societies, bloomsbury group and the like. Dumbing down forces you to seek likeminded companions for discourse. If the majority are lacking you won’t throw in the towel. You’ll find others like yourself and maybe we need that. We may see a resurgence in book clubs, Mensa, poetry and more.

ETA: There’s a trend underway on designing personal curriculums. There are valid concerns we can reference on related issues like brain rot.

~bella

 

[Hans Blaster]

The problem with AI, as it presently exists, is that it uses all of the internet to come up with answers. Sometimes that includes Reddit, TikTok, and other social media sites. So to AI if it’s in the internet then it must be true.

The "AI"s have started ingesting the output of other "AI"s as "input", so it is only going to go down hill from here.

 

[partinobodycular]

The "AI"s have started ingesting the output of other "AI"s as "input", so it is only going to go down hill from here.

Scratching my head and thinking... hasn't religion already gone down this road? I.E created a set of doctrinal truths that serve as the measure of all subsequent truths. Just as the AI increasingly turns to itself to inform its answers, theism has already been doing that for thousands of years. In questioning religious ideology theism simply turns to religious ideology. What's the chance that AI will be smart enough to avoid a trap that humanity couldn't?

 

[Hans Blaster]

Scratching my head and thinking... hasn't religion already gone down this road? I.E created a set of doctrinal truths that serve as the measure of all subsequent truths. Just as the AI increasingly turns to itself to inform its answers, theism has already been doing that for thousands of years. In questioning religious ideology theism simply turns to religious ideology. What's the chance that AI will be smart enough to avoid a trap that humanity couldn't?

"AI" doesn't do truth assessments, so...

 

[partinobodycular]

"AI" doesn't do truth assessments, so...

Wouldn't it be great if it could? Then again the ensuing backlash would be epic.

 

[caffeinated hermit]

I made a thread a while back on the perils of reading too much into AI's spiritual assumptions. I've seen Christians try to use AI to "prove Christianity", as if AI were some omniscient, perfect oracle, but that's not what it is.

For Those Christians Taken With A.I. ...

I would like to present a couple of examples of A.I. basically going along with whatever spiritual assumptions or logical arguments a user presents it with. A New Age example. Skip to 2:21 for the Chat GPT content : Chat GPT admits it has connections to the Anti-Christ : Chat GPT...

www.christianforums.com

 

[AV1611VET]

Scratching my head and thinking... hasn't religion already gone down this road?

Yes.

I.E created a set of doctrinal truths that serve as the measure of all subsequent truths.

Yes.

Scientology is a good example.

Just as the AI increasingly turns to itself to inform its answers, theism has already been doing that for thousands of years.

Indeed.

And Babylon was a huge forerunner of false religion.

In questioning religious ideology theism simply turns to religious ideology.

Indeed.

Religion is one big demolition derby.

What's the chance that AI will be smart enough to avoid a trap that humanity couldn't?

Zero.

Since that "trap" was set by someone smart, and is being maintained and improved by that smart person, anyone appealing to "the smarts" to find THE TRUTH, will find himself sinking deeper and deeper into his trap.

Christianity has the Lifeline though, and we're trying to pull these religious people out of the fire.

Jude 23 And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh.