Is relying too much on AI chatbots can make you dumb?

The staggering increase in the use of AI in our lives presents a dual perspective: it has made us more efficient, productive, and time-saving while also potentially making us rather lazy and causing cognitive decline if we start relying on it completely.

With AI assistants like ChatGPT and Copilot gaining popularity and becoming a part of our day-to-day chores, yet concerns arise regarding their potential harm outweighing their benefits. They are like the untapped and unexploited reservoir that could be potentially exploited for nefarious purposes, raising concerns about privacy and security.

Despite these concerns, Microsoft is actively working on integrating Copilot in every facet of the Windows operating system. Soon, we might see an AI explorer with the upcoming releases.

With the release of ChatGPT 4, reliance on this OpenAI platform increased as it was more reliable than its previous iteration. However, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, acknowledges its limitations, citing issues with accuracy due to the heavy dependency on copyrighted material on the internet for training, which impacts the quality of the responses.

He also admitted that  OpenAI’s GPT-4 model kind of sucks.

We are not saying using AI is entirely bad; you can use it for repetitive and mundane tasks to speed up and enhance productivity. However, depending on them for every other task is not ideal as it may lead to over-reliance, reduced critical thinking, and detachment from human interaction, thereby hindering innovation and personal development.

Also, a recent study by ScienceDirect suggests that frequent use of ChatGPT could negatively affect a person’s cognitive skills, potentially making us dumb.

There has always been a debate on the merits and drawbacks of using AI, but talks about AI’s usefulness and its impact on human intelligence spurred when one of the Reddit users, Jaydayl, posted:

I can really see that ChatGPT will make us more dumb as we will increasingly use AI without thinking and engaging our brain. Do other people share this opinion as well?

Will ChatGPT make humanity more dumb?
byu/jaydayl inChatGPT

In response to this post, many Reddit users mentioned that they feel the same way. Jaydayl asked ChatGPT the same question: Will ChatGPT make humanity more dumb? Here’s the response he got:

While it is true that relying too heavily on AI and other technologies can lead to a decline in critical thinking and problem-solving skills, it is important to remember that these tools can also be used to enhance and augment human intelligence. For example, using a language model like ChatGPT to generate ideas for a bachelor thesis can save time and effort, and can even help to spark new and creative ideas. Ultimately, it is up to us as individuals to strike a healthy balance between using technology to assist us in our tasks, and engaging our own brains to think critically and solve problems.

Well, we understand these are some serious concerns, but when looking at the brighter side, we found ChatGPT has been helpful for students, as the platform assists them in understanding things better and quicker.

Here is the response by Honeybadger9, another Reddit user:

It has the opposite effect on me. In a way I can learn and understand things quicker because it has the ability to articulate things and make things easier to understand.

In a way I feel like we can offload a lot of the processing that we do when we have to think about a problem and try to figure out solutions to said problems. Less frustration.

You still have to be the designer.

With this, I again want to say that it is not wise to completely rely on AI assistants and chatbots, as ChatGPT makes mistakes, and Copilot has been repeatedly in the news due to the misfires and bugs, like mentioning Mount Everest information even prompted with the question – what do you mean.

Microsoft and OpenAI are both working on improving their products and have been introducing new features and updates to enhance the user experience. However, it is a long process, and they can’t guarantee that there won’t be any issues.

So, to conclude, yes, these platforms can be very useful and save us time, but excessive use doesn’t mean it can’t harm our cognitive capabilities. In addition, given the platforms’ inaccurate tendencies, we must always keep our eyes open while believing anything that appears as a response.

What are your thoughts on the matter? Share your opinions on the matter in the comments section below.