This from Gloria Mark perfectly captures the ethos of Generative AI for Academics. We can use these systems in intelligent and creative ways, but that requires a commitment to reflexive engagement. I am extremely worried about the ‘path of least resistance’ Mark describes here, for both staff and students:
Our tendency to opt for the path of least resistance can further exacerbate this reliance on AI. Who wants to write a monthly report which is busy work? If we relegate that to AI, then what a boon for us. What I worry about though is that while we may have the best intentions to use LLMs in a limited way, it’s so easy for us to slide down that slippery slope. We may rely on using AI more and more to process that information for us, because we humans want to do what’s easiest. As a result, we risk losing the ability to reason critically, because we’re not doing it– AI is. Deep thinking is a skill that we cannot afford to lose.
We are doing ourselves a disservice when we blindly use AI to process information. We need to carefully consider which information we can relegate to AI and what we can best benefit from by engaging directly with the information. We risk weakening our mind’s muscle for critical thinking if we outsource much or all of our work to AI to do the processing. The only way to keep our mind’s muscle strong is to regularly practice deep processing of information. AI is a tool designed to help us, but let’s use it carefully. Let’s preserve our mind’s powerful muscle so that we can be present, say at a meeting or a lecture, so that we’re not there just physically but we’re also there with full mental awareness.
https://gloriamark.substack.com/p/lets-not-lose-our-ability-to-deeply?
Mark Carrigan 