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AI is making us dumb....

Lord of Planar

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So apparently, relying on AI is making people dumber. Not having to do the actual work, deprives the brain of learning.

Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task

This study explores the neural and behavioral consequences of LLM-assisted essay writing. Participants were divided into three groups: LLM, Search Engine, and Brain-only (no tools). Each completed three sessions under the same condition. In a fourth session, LLM users were reassigned to...
arxiv.org

Full PDF:

 

Doesn't matter. While we're doing the work, they're using AI and devoting all of their effort to schmoozing and kissing ass.

Guess who's getting promoted?
 

Some people are upset at AI because when they try to find out how vaccines give you autism, or that the Earth is only 6000 years old, or climate change science is just a hoax by the entire Global scientific community or the Chinese or whatever, they are corrected.

So they think that’s making everyone dumb, and they are the smart ones for taking the time to find the rare conspiracy website which supports their latest weird beliefs.

It must really sting to have a tool which cuts through so much confusion and fog so readily. They need that confusion and uncertainty and those rare conspirator websites to keep their odd beliefs alive. This is cutting out their oxygen.

I’m so sorry for your loss. But go back to work and find those weird websites on the darknet. I am sure they will tell you the real truth. The truth is out there! You go get it tiger.
 
Wow.

So many unfounded assumptions you have about me.

Did the AI tell you that is how I am?

This was a study done by leading universities. Not any thing conspiratorial about it.
 
Lord of Planar said:
Wow.

So many unfounded assumptions you have about me.

Did the AI tell you that is how I am?

This was a study done by leading universities. Not any thing conspiratorial about it.
Click to expand...
So is the one I posted.

Point is: AI is a powerful tool, like calculators, computers, Google, etc... The same thing was said about all those things too when they came out. My grandfather was amazing at how much math he could do in his head. I remember he was very concerned that all those newfangled calculators were going to make us all dumb. Maybe they have, in a certain way- but I wouldn't trade my calculator in to become "smarter". I have better things to do with my time now.

Whether anty of these tools make you dumb or smart depends on how you use them. They are capable of doing both.
 
ataraxia said:
So is the one I posted.

Point is: AI is a powerful tool, like calculators, computers, Google, etc... The same thing was said about all those things too when they came out. My grandfather was amazing at how much math he could do in his head.
Click to expand...
This takes it to a farther level yet.
ataraxia said:
I remember he was very concerned that all those newfangled calculators were going to make us all dumb. Maybe they have, in a certain way- but I wouldn't trade my calculator in to become "smarter". I have better things to do with my time now.
Click to expand...
I'll admit, I was happy to stop using my slide rule.
ataraxia said:
Whether anty of these tools make you dumb or smart depends on how you use them. They are capable of doing both.
Click to expand...
Yes, and the study says as much.
 

I can't argue with that...

Although, I think the problem with AI is that it leads to over-reliance on the technology. I know how to do math. Like you say, a calculator saves a lot of time.... but I have enough knowledge to know when the answers it gives me are incorrect. If you don't have that knowledge, then how can you tell?
 
I may not 100% believe in it but I still like a good conspiracy. It gives you something to think about and it injects human elements vs. dry boring science.
 
LOL, did you even click the paper? It's about one specific skill and it's a draft. It hasn't been peer reviewed. Sheesh. Which website directed you to this?

Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulationof Cognitive Debt when Using an AIAssistant for Essay Writing Task
 
People should look at high quality sources. A tool that summarizes that for you can often cause more problems then it solves.
 
lynnwinslow said:
LOL, did you even click the paper? It's about one specific skill and it's a draft. It hasn't been peer reviewed. Sheesh. Which website directed you to this?
Click to expand...
Here is another link:

Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task – MIT Media Lab

This study explores the neural and behavioral consequences of LLM-assisted essay writing. Participants were divided into three groups: LLM, Search Engine…
www.media.mit.edu

I heard of the paper and googled it. i found multiple places with the samre basic article and some linking the paper.

Maybe it is more appropriately called a "white paper."
lynnwinslow said:
Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulationof Cognitive Debt when Using an AIAssistant for Essay Writing Task
Click to expand...
My understanding is the final product is a collaboration of universities.
 
Read my post again.
 
Gonna have to disagree there. What a calculator does is make calculations, what it doesnt do is solve the whole calculus problem for you which is very difficult to do. What AI tries to do is skim the web and write your paper for you.

Research is not merely asking questions and grabbing answers from an automated prompt you have no idea if it skimmed reddit or an academic journal.
 
True. It's nice to get the references from AI, and then cross-check with Google and other methods.

But just FYI, ChatGPT is programmed to strongly prioritize peer reviewed material over Reddit.
 

Yes, and other people are upset when they ask AI if there is a fixed amount of wealth in the world, or who really pays corporate taxes.
 
aociswundumho said:
Yes, and other people are upset when they ask AI if there is a fixed amount of wealth in the world,
Click to expand...
Who is saying this?

aociswundumho said:
or who really pays corporate taxes.
Click to expand...
I asked. Here is what it said:

"corporate taxes as more than just a revenue tool—they can function as a mechanism to slow or reduce wealth concentration, especially at the top of the economic hierarchy.


Here’s how corporate taxes play a role in curbing excessive concentration of wealth:




1.​


  • CEOs, founders, and wealthy shareholders earn a large portion of their income from capital gains, dividends, and retained earnings—all of which stem from corporate profits.
  • Taxing corporate income reduces the pool of profits available to flow upward to these individuals.
  • In this way, corporate tax acts as a gatekeeper before wealth flows into private hands.



2.​


  • High-net-worth individuals often shelter wealth inside corporations, delaying or avoiding personal income taxes.
  • Without a corporate tax, a billionaire could leave profits inside a company indefinitely, reinvest them, and never pay tax until (or unless) they sell shares.
  • Corporate tax ensures some taxation occurs even if individuals delay realizing personal gains.



3.​


  • If profits are taxed, companies may choose to:
    • Pay higher wages or benefits (since retained profits are less attractive),
    • Reinvest more into growth and hiring (instead of dividends or buybacks),
    • Be more transparent and accountable, especially in public corporations.
  • This can indirectly support labor and consumers, shifting some economic power away from the top.



4.​


  • Corporate tax revenues fund public goods—education, healthcare, infrastructure—that narrow inequality and increase opportunity.
  • Even if the burden is partially shared by workers or consumers, the gains from spending often benefit lower- and middle-income groups more.



But There's a Tradeoff:​


To make corporate taxes effective without hurting growth or labor:


  • Loopholes must be closed so large firms and wealthy individuals can’t game the system.
  • Tax rates must balance equity and competitiveness—too high, and companies move profits abroad; too low, and inequality widens.
  • Complementary policies (e.g., progressive personal income taxes, minimum wages, anti-trust laws) are needed to ensure the benefits are shared.



Bottom Line:​


You're exactly right—corporate taxes help prevent the extreme accumulation of wealth among CEOs and owners. They’re not a perfect or standalone solution, but when combined with smart policy, they serve as an important brake on runaway inequality while funding a fairer society."
____________________
Sounds about right to me.
 
ataraxia said:
I asked.
Click to expand...

No you didn't. Instead you asked some bullshit question about inequality.

Ask, "Who really pays corporate taxes?" and watch the liberal narrative get destroyed:

Chatgtp:



Gemini:



Perplexity:

 
aociswundumho said:
No you didn't. Instead you asked some bullshit question about inequality.

Ask, "Who really pays corporate taxes?" and watch the liberal narrative get destroyed:

Chatgtp:



Gemini:



Perplexity:
Click to expand...

You do realize that corporate taxes are assessed on net profits and not on gross revenue, right?
 
aociswundumho said:
Doesn't matter.
Click to expand...

Sure it does. What a company spends on salaries or capital investments actually reduces it's tax burden because it reduces net profits.

If the tax burden is so small as to not be much of a consideration, then they'd have more incentive to increase net profits and use them on share buybacks and raising dividends instead.
 
Cordelier said:
Sure it does.
Click to expand...

Read the first sentence of the responses from each model. The tax is borne by people, not "corporations". This is something Milton Friedman tried to drive into everyone's brain, but to no avail.
 
aociswundumho said:
Read the first sentence of the responses from each model. The tax is borne by people, not "corporations". This is something Milton Friedman tried to drive into everyone's brain, but to no avail.
Click to expand...

Hokay then.... Well, I guess you have proven the OP.
 
People have been dumbing down for decades, long before AI was a real thing.
 
aociswundumho said:
Read the first sentence of the responses from each model. The tax is borne by people, not "corporations". This is something Milton Friedman tried to drive into everyone's brain, but to no avail.
Click to expand...

That’s because under your model, the people will have no money on which to pay taxes. The pie grows, but stays in the hands of only a few people.

Your model is based on trickle down economics. It’s common knowledge that that doesn’t work.
 
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