Every day, I fear we are slowly moving towards the dystopian future I often read about in my teens and 20s. One particular vision that comes to mind is the AI future depicted in Pixar’s Wall-E.
For those unfamiliar, Wall-E offers a rather stark, yet ultimately hopeful, look at humanity’s destiny. After Earth becomes uninhabitable due to pollution and global warming, the last remaining humans journey aboard the Axiom, a luxurious, high-tech spaceship designed to sustain them until Earth recovers.
But the convenience and comfort of the Axiom comes at a cost. The humans become significantly overweight, their bodies weakened from lack of activity. They are constantly engaged with personal screens, hovering transport chairs and nutrient-rich, blended meals.
The film shows a society where human interaction has been largely replaced by screens.
It is this widespread disengagement and the weakening of human connection that most concerns me
Communication often happens through AI and physical activity becomes unnecessary due to automated systems. This leads to a sense of isolation, even on a ship full of thousands of people. The humans become disconnected from their surroundings, their lives defined by passive consumption and automated comfort.
It is this widespread disengagement and the weakening of human connection that most concerns me when I think about the direction of our current technological advancements.
Now I know that may sound dramatic, but thinking of the technological advancements that have already been made since the movie’s 2008 release and our growing reliance on technology, I honestly don’t know how far off we are from that possible reality.
Artificial intelligence is one of the main advancements that seems to have made the most impact in recent years. The adoption of AI has been rampant and dynamic, with advancements coming at an accelerated rate.
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I’m sure we have all seen the posts and articles talking about how revolutionary AI is and how it can benefit businesses. While it seems like a great tool that can save time and assist with mundane admin tasks, I have found myself wondering: at what cost?
The increasing reliance on artificial intelligence tools, ranging from smart assistants to predictive algorithms, has transformed how professionals process information.
The ease of access to instant solutions has led to a phenomenon known as “cognitive offloading”.
While this offloading can free up mental space for more complex tasks, excessive reliance on AI risks eroding critical thinking skills, transforming users from active thinkers into passive consumers of AI-generated content.
I recently came across a video discussing a study that suggested signs of cognitive decline may be linked to reliance on AI, which led me down a rabbit hole, of sorts.
So, I went back to my scientific roots and looked into the literature.
I found three recent research papers that all showed a significant negative correlation between frequent AI usage and critical thinking abilities
While the studies out there are relatively new and there hasn’t been enough time between the adoption of AI and when the studies were completed, they indicate there is a correlation.
I found three recent research papers – from Michael Gerlich, the MIT Media Lab and a joint study by Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University – that all showed a significant negative correlation between frequent AI usage and critical-thinking abilities.
For example, the MIT Media Lab study found that participants who only used AI to write essays exhibited weaker brain connectivity, lower memory retention and a fading sense of ownership over their work.
Cognitive function in key brain areas decreased over time and these declines persisted even after AI use stopped.
An increased trust in AI-generated content also seems to lead to reduced independent verification of information and a decline in scepticism.
The studies also indicate that young people between 17-25 have a stronger dependence on AI tools and score lower in critical-thinking assessments compared to older participants, which is definitely concerning for future generations.
Escaping the pervasive influence of AI in our daily lives may be impossible
I must say I did find it ironic that at the end of one of the studies, in the Declaration, they stated: “In order to correct and improve the academic writing of our paper, we have used the language model ChatGPT 3.5.”
This suggests that escaping the pervasive influence of AI in our daily lives may be impossible, especially if even researchers studying its possible negative effects can’t help but use it.
This isn’t me being a technophobe – far from it. As the person who is meant to be versed in all things digital, it would be remiss to denounce AI. But I am still cautious, and the studies I have read have proved I am right to be.
If we offload too much cognitive effort to AI, our capacity for critical human skills could diminish, almost creating an “automation paradox”.
This means that while AI aims to make us more efficient, it risks making us less proficient at the very tasks it is supposed to enable us to focus on.
If we become too accustomed to AI providing quick solutions and information, our ability to perform deep analysis, identify subtle human cues, or challenge assumptions could weaken.
So, while I am all for working smarter and not harder, I think we shouldn’t become overly reliant on AI.
In the same way we choose to train our bodies to remain fit and healthy, we must also train our brain. Because if you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.
