Will AI Turn Us into Boneheaded Bots?

Will we need "mental gyms" and mandatory tech blackout periods to keep our brains sharp?

You know the old saying: “Necessity is the mother of invention?” but what if AI is the father of de-evolution?

Imagine- could it be that we start to evolve towards more primitive thinkers?

For sure, ChatGPT has caused more of the general public to think about Artificial Intelligence (AI), and there are many debates from the impact of AI on labor to security and privacy concerns, but as the volume of “AI” assisted articles increases, I begin to wonder if we, homo sapiens, become intellectually idle because of AI? 

In the pre-GPS era, London taxi drivers were like the navigators of the high seas, charting through a complex ocean of streets and lanes. Their brains adapted to the vast complexity of London roads, as they carried more maps in their heads than Dora the Explorer ever could. Radiological imaging showed that the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for spatial memory, was like a bodybuilder on steroids, bulging and swelling in response to the cognitive demands of the job.

Today. GPS has turned us into motoring minions, driving zombies, barely aware of our spatial location unless the soothing voice of our navigation app directs us. Without it, we’re like a chicken playing a banjo, absolutely clueless. I argue that this tech-enabled stupor is a reversal of evolution, a negative transformation that inhibits our capacity for learning, storing, and retrieving information. 

Taken to its extreme, we’re developing a tech dependency that’s more debilitating than my addiction to late-night tacos. The mere thought of losing Google Maps sends shivers down our spines, leading to panic-driven paralysis. If we lost GPS, most of us would struggle to find our way out of a paper bag, let alone navigate city streets. 

Now, let’s extrapolate to the AI-driven future.

Picture it.

Will we be able to craft an email without a digital nursemaid? Remember John Adams, the Second President of the United States? His letters to his wife, Abigail, were filled with such exquisite literary artistry they’d make Shakespeare jealous. His sentences were poignant tapestries of emotion, describing his current state, his love, his longing for his wife. 

Compare that to today’s scenario, where most of us can’t string together a coherent tweet, let alone an email. The exquisiteness of language is being blunted by our dependency on digital shortcuts and predictive text. If this trend continues, our future generations might need AI assistance just to pen down ‘Roses are red’. It seems ChatGPT and its descendants are turning us into literary loafers. I am even using Microsoft’s CoPilot to help draft some of my emails (As a surgeon, I was trained to write short, declarative sentences that often come off blunt in the non-surgical context and I admit, copilot has helped make them better.)

Consider this: There was a time when running was crucial for our survival. Dodging saber-toothed tigers, hunting mammoths, physical activity was an integral part of daily life. Now, we’re more likely to be outrun by a garden snail. We have to invent places (gyms) with machines that mimic situations that enable physical engagement. Our ancestors, watching from their celestial sofas, must be doubling over in laughter.

So, what’s next? Mental gyms? Will we need digital treadmills to exercise our flabby neurons? Will we see a future where mental obesity is as prevalent as its physical counterpart? 

The future of AI is both fascinating and concerning, a paradoxical utopia where the line between human intelligence and artificial intelligence gets blurred. To prevent becoming boneheaded bots, we must continually challenge and engage our brains. Let’s do art, build, write, play piano, or fix an engine. Use your hands and your mind. Meditate, reflect, and let’s find ways to use technology to complement our inherent need to learn and grow.

I have already seen the mental laziness creep into healthcare, with increasing roles and handoffs, and less curiosity and reflect, errors are increasing.

If we are not intentional about maintaining what makes us uniquely human, our ability to love, reflect, learn, act and do hard things, we might just forget the ‘i’ before ‘e’ except after ‘c’ rule because of autocorrect. While AI can make our lives easier, we shouldn’t let it make us mentally lazy, ask questions, stay curious, and keep creating.

Salim Afshar