Victor J Aguilar

From my perspective, this is a somewhat deterministic outlook. The pace of evolution in human society is faster than that of biological evolution, and technological advances throughout history have forced people to learn new skills rather than diminishing their cognitive capacity. AI may interfere with routine tasks, but it does not prevent humans from evolving new thinking patterns. Wells' depiction of a dystopian future was, in essence, an allegory of social inequality. Institutionalization of cognitive laziness may be the real threat.

H.G. Wells' The Time Machine serves as a compelling analogy for the potential trajectory of humanity in the age of generative AI, particularly when considering the concerns surrounding the cognitive impact of reliance on technology. In Wells' narrative, the Time Traveler discovers a future society divided into two distinct races: the Eloi, who have become decadent and dependent, and the Morlocks, subterranean beings who prey on them. This division reflects a profound regression in human capability, where the Eloi, once the dominant class, have lost their ability to think critically and engage with their environment, relying instead on the Morlocks for basic survival needs. Similarly, contemporary discussions about generative AI highlight fears that reliance on these technologies could lead to a deterioration of cognitive faculties among knowledge workers, who may become overly dependent on AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot. Researchers argue that this dependency could result in atrophied judgment and diminished problem-solving skills, leaving workers unprepared for challenges beyond routine tasks. Just as the Eloi's passivity and lack of initiative render them vulnerable to the predations of the Morlocks, modern workers might find themselves in a precarious position where their intellectual capabilities diminish, making them less equipped to navigate a complex world. The concern arises that as generative AI takes over more cognitive tasks, there may indeed be a bifurcation in society, mirroring Wells' vision—where a class of individuals, analogous to the Eloi, becomes reliant on AI for knowledge work, potentially leading to a superficial understanding of their field. Meanwhile, another class, perhaps akin to the Morlocks, may evolve from those who engage in the more manual, creative, and critical-thinking aspects of work, maintaining their cognitive skills by necessity. This scenario raises unsettling questions about the future of human evolution in the context of technological advancement: will we, like the Eloi, become complacent and dependent on our machines, or will we cultivate a more balanced relationship with technology that preserves our cognitive faculties? Ultimately, Wells’ dystopian vision serves as a cautionary tale, urging us to consider the implications of our increasing reliance on generative AI and to strive for a future where technology enhances rather than diminishes our intellectual capabilities.

Smartphones have been causing a deterioration of cognitive faculties long before Chat and Copilot. For example, my IT guy told me about a young woman who had a problem with her smartphone and he told her he would need a day to repair it. She became almost frantic because she did not think she could get home without Google Maps to guide her. He drew her a paper map, which was something she had never seen before. She was unfamiliar with the words north, south, east and west; indeed, she could not even seem to wrap her mind around the concept that certain directions on this planet have names. She was unfamiliar with the distinction between major through streets and small residential streets. She had always just blindly followed Google Maps' instructions and was only vaguely aware that doing so sometime put her on large straight multi-lane streets and sometimes on small two-lane streets frequently interrupted by stop signs. She had not taken note of the names of any of these streets.

This is absurd because our town has only two major through streets, one running north to south and one running east to west. A freeway cuts them at an angle forming (roughly) a 30-60-90 triangle with a ten mile (16 km) hypotenuse. It's a small town!

Two hundred years ago, young people her age crossed a three thousand mile (4800 km) wide uncharted continent to reach the Pacific Ocean. This included crossing the Mississippi River, climbing the Rocky Mountains and skirting the Nevada-Utah wasteland. Now people the same age cannot independently navigate a ten-mile-wide network of paved streets with street signs at every intersection. If that's not cognitive decline, then I don't know what the word means!

Chat and Copilot are going to make this so much worse! We are going to wind up raising an entire generation of brainless idiots. Workers with blue-collar jobs who drive around town fixing people's plumbing, roofs, HVAC, etc. will retain some cognitive function. But, inside the offices, we will have people who call themselves "writers" who cannot put pencil to paper and form a single coherent sentence - for them, "writing" means giving verbal prompts to Chat.