What Using ChatGPT Does To Your Brain
AI use cases are coming out of the woodwork everywhere. It feels like I see a new business selling a new way to use ChatGPT every time I go online. However, I feel a growing concern for the effects these LLMs have on society at large.
Those in the industry talk as if utopia is around the corner, but what will be the effect on us lowly humans when AI begins thinking for us?
A recent pre-release paper from MIT studied the cognitive cost of using an LLM in the educational context of writing an essay.
The study tested 54 people in writing essays. Some subjects used AI, others used Google, and the most unlucky group had to write with nothing but their brains.
The results shouldn’t come as a shock, but they should come as a warning.
Writing with AI was easy, but it came at the cost of being bland, uniform, and forgettable.
83% of AI users couldn’t even recall what they wrote.
No only did they not remember what they wrote their brains did not really engage with the exercise or light up in response to what they wrote. Meaning the ideas they were putting forth in their writing were never fully incorporated into their knowledge. The person using AI to write is not only publishing information they may not fully understand, but they are also not incorporating that information into future use.
Apply this to people who want to use AI for writing JSA, Hazard Assessments, Audits, Legal Documents, or worse, incident investigations. The people using these tools are likely not learning from the process. Meaning they can’t apply that knowledge to future projects or investigations.
My Takeaway: Understanding Can’t Be Outsourced
I am honestly worried that over-reliance on AI will result in a massive loss in understanding across industries. Imagine a procedure writer using AI who doesn’t know what they wrote or why it was written that way. The chaos we are jumping into by using AI to replace human experience is going to be scary.
The burden will be shifted to the worker to sort it all out, and when they don’t catch it, guess who will get the blame? Not the managers and leaders who pushed for more people in their company to use AI, not the leaders who cut staff, because AI can increase the productivity of the workforce.
AI gives the illusion of investigation and learning without a thorough understanding of what it entails. So, it doesn’t matter how good the plan or ideas are if you lack the conviction and understanding to apply the learning outcome.
Learning is a process we undergo, and when you relinquish the task of thinking to another, you are also relinquishing the opportunity to improve yourself in the future.
Final Thoughts
I wish I could end this with a positive note or call to action, so my best attempt is to tell you that in order for you to grow, you don’t need AI to write a learning plan for you. What you need is to invest in your knowledge and experience. Practice the self-discipline needed to grow and improve.
Maybe that means you check out a 5-Day Advanced TapRooT® Root Cause Analysis Team Leader Course, where you can learn skills based on “AI” (Actual Intelligence).
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One More Thing
Maybe this counts as good news, but turns out that AI makes the same kinds of mistakes we do, so if you want to know more, check out this video we did on the topic.
“Logan’s Run”, a reference for a future run by AI/ChatGPT