One professor's reflections on the end of an era, as AI tools such as ChatGPT have murdered the student essay (RIP). Here's why that threatens the future of human cognition—and how to save ourselves.
I loved writing essays and see the value for a student in knowing how to state a case and back it up with evidence, what counts as evidence, and the importance of clearly communicating the ideas.
That said, I also use AI to write copy daily and the most important thing for anyone’s cognition is critical thinking and reading comprehension, both of which AI is going to teach us whether we want it or not. Critical analysis is the only way we can navigate the future.
Maybe this is another Great Filter for technologically advancing critters?
I loved writing essays and see the value for a student in knowing how to state a case and back it up with evidence, what counts as evidence, and the importance of clearly communicating the ideas.
That said, I also use AI to write copy daily and the most important thing for anyone’s cognition is critical thinking and reading comprehension, both of which AI is going to teach us whether we want it or not. Critical analysis is the only way we can navigate the future.
Maybe this is another Great Filter for technologically advancing critters?
I hated writing pointless essays about topics I don’t care about, and yet I still like to research and debate.