Five worthy reads: Brains or bots—are we forgetting how to think?
Five worthy reads is a regular column on five noteworthy items we’ve discovered while researching trending and timeless topics. This week, we are exploring how prolonged dependence on AI could influence human beings' neural pathways, cognitive habits, and the behavioral changes that follows.
As children, many of us would have watched the juggler at a circus in amazement. One ball became two, then three, and several more since it was a cumulative act. While the children may have felt the pressure to keep track of how many were being juggled at once, more tension lies with the juggler to focus on each additional ball without losing attention or frequency.
Today's normal workday has become more like a juggler's. We are constantly conversing with AI, assigning tasks, reviewing the options it provides, automating workflows, building frameworks, and so much more. In a bid to maximize productivity by letting AI take the front seat, we neglect giving undivided attention to a single thought–we are always in the middle of something, neither fully present nor fully absent, and trying to balance it all.
Here's a quick look back into history: About 66 million years ago, the world changed almost overnight. Dinosaurs, the largest land animals on planet Earth became extinct, while many birds and animal groups survived; they still do. Their survival was ultimately relied on adaptability, or their ability to adjust to sudden behavioral changes.
As human beings, we have been evolving, migrating, and moving. Most scientists refer to humans as generalists, whose success and survival do not relate only to staying in familiar environments, but instead to our ability to adapt, learn, and respond to changes rapidly rather than avoiding them. But the world's current state puts us on a pedestal, challenging our ability to think and create, as many of us are consumers of AI.
The jugglers and the dinosaurs example might seem like two distinct concepts about cognitive overload and adaptability, but the convergence happens here–are we adjusting to these changes without losing the very capabilities that define us?
1. AI is coming for our babies — putting their brains at risk
AI advancements are happening at an unparalleled pace, but are we asking human development to accelerate without going through formative experiences? By law of nature, every child babbles before they learn to speak. Interestingly, Gabbo, an interactive companion developed for children aged three and above, has drawn criticism from researchers for failing to appropriately validate children's emotions. This raises concerns about speeding up a child's growth and putting children's emotional and foundational development at risk. The article linked above explains how AI scaffolding raises questions about a child's development, supported by practical observations.
The potential hollowness we feel within ourselves may happen for several reasons. Out of the many, I'd lean on this–creation and consumption must work in balance for human beings to thrive. Excessive scrolling, reading, or indulging in any habit without actively creating or applying the acquired knowledge into practice leads to reduced engagement:cognitive, affective, and behavioral. Backed by science and experience, the Harvard Gazette has discussed with experts across multiple interests, delivering cautionary tales about mindful AI usage and eliminating excessive dependencies.
3. Why AI Is Causing Fatigue at Work
The temptation to progress quickly has increased enormously post-digital intervention in our lives. Are we sleepwalking into all things maxima? Output maximization with AI incorporation is truly a blessing; however, it comes at an overlooked opportunity cost. As we are expected to make more decisions, review, and multitask while building AI workflows and frameworks, we can miss or forget to incorporate thinking, reasoning, and questioning capabilities. Read the article linked above to understand how human intent behind AI use plays an important role in fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills for future generations.
4. The Science Behind Digital Brain Rot (and How to Fix It)
If you've ever opened your fridge and forgotten why, you've experienced how easily our attention can falter. This doorway effect–momentary disruption in the thought due to sudden change of environment— doesn't directly result from digital consumption or AI interaction. Today's AI-enabled workflows, information overload, and chronic digital overstimulation could lead to identity erosion or decision paralysis. The featured article above explains how excessive digital dependence can affect decision-making, attention span, and thinking, along with clear action steps to overcome digital brain rot and use digital devices and AI intentionally rather than habitually.
5. Think outside the bots: How to stop AI from turning your brain to mush
Jokes about not being able to watch a movie or complete reading an article without digital intervention have become common. But it's more dangerous than what we may initially find amusing. In the process of becoming more capable, there are signs that we are troubling our brains and leaving footprints that could damage our long-term cognition. We've come a long way, but we still have time to restore balance. This article by the BBC is a must-read if you want to work with AI without losing yourself in the process.
Ending with a timeless thought by Socrates in which he says, "The unexamined life is not worth living." It is imperative and empowering to question our assumptions, regulate our emotions, control our own thoughts, and decide for ourselves. Although AI could provide productivity assistance, sometimes we should let the bots wait a bit while we rewire our brains and get back to true thinking and living.