ChatGPT makes you stupid.
Some people might be fuming and frothing at the mouth already, but the verdict is out.
What I donāt see is why people find it so difficult to accept this fact. After all, theyāre quick to admit that TikTok makes you stupidāa claim backed by studies, by the way.
Part of it is that āstupidā can be rather a strong word for some people. It feels permanent and stigmatizing. If I were to be a bit nicer with my words, Iād say ChatGPT harms your cognitive fitness. It dulls your ability to read, analyze (LLMs are not reasoning machines), and form coherent thoughts. I also find the āinstant gratificationā element of it rather concerning, but this might be a topic for another day. The point is that just as never working out reduces your physical fitness, not exercising your brain and generating answers and content hurts your cognitive fitness. It really shouldnāt be difficult to see why. If I skip leg days, my quad muscles would eventually grow weaker and smaller.
Here is where most people say, āOh, Iām not against AI! In fact, AI can be awesome if you use it the right way blah blah blah!ā
You know what? Iām not going to say it. Someone has to say that what they call AIāwhich I think is a greatest misnomerāright now kinda sucks for the planet and every living thing on it. The only instance where I think ChatGPT can be sort of helpful is when someone is trying to code. Even this is despised by many mid-level and senior developers who have to deal with bullcrap put out by ChatGPT that their juniors keep turning in. Another possible application of this crap machine is when you have to write a groveling email to someone you donāt care about.
The problem is that none of these cute perks justify products that guzzle energy like some biblical monster. Itās not worth burning up the planet thatās already past boiling point just so some people can code easilyādebatableāor write bunch of insincere emails or whatever āsmart applicationā of ChatGPT that people are arguing for.
ChatGPT harms the planet. It also makes you stupid.
There is a culture that tries to scaremonger everyone, especially younger people, to accept and use AI products like ChatGPT. Despite knowing 99 harms it does, people cling onto the hope that there is one upside. I think a significant number of people know consciously or unconsciously, that stuff like ChatGPT is not all that good. But the wider social culture pressures them to āstay openā to ānew technological innovations.ā Not doing so makes you āfall behind.ā
By the way, I always found statements like āblah-blah is here to stayā ridiculous. Facial recognition exists but that doesnāt mean we should agree to governments making it mandatory for all citizens. Likewise, we donāt have to accept ChatGPT as it is now.
I wanted to write this because I see a huge pressure especially on young people in high school and university to accept and adopt AIāLLMās and genAIāinto their lives. There is a pushback in the creative community, but itās not the same in the wider public. People are hesitant to criticize AI, worried that they might āsound like boomers.ā Many universities are quick to adopt AI into their curriculum to keep up with the trends. Honestly, I think itās pretty shameful. So hereās one more rant on the internet to assure you that youāre not the only one unsure about Mr. Sam Altmanās grubby little trinket.