MIT professor Eric So argues that heavy reliance on artificial intelligence is dulling key human abilities, from persistence in problem-solving to memory retention and the capacity to build relationships. In remarks promoting his new book, “The Collision: What AI Does to Us,” So says students and professionals are increasingly “outsourcing” cognition to chatbots for instant answers, a shift that he believes undermines foundational mastery. He urges using AI as a tutor that challenges reasoning, not as an “answer machine.”
The warning comes as AI roils markets, boardrooms and regulators. AI stocks slid alongside weak NASDAQ futures on fresh inflation data. Eight states sued OpenAI over child-safety claims, and the FTC subpoenaed OpenAI and Anthropic on reports of models behaving unpredictably. Lawmakers pressed the FAA to pause an AI air-traffic tool, while the Financial Stability Board called for tighter human oversight of agentic systems. At the same time, industry advances continue: Meta unveiled a large open-weight model that runs locally, Anthropic posted sharp revenue gains, Amazon introduced AI-enabled wearables, and Apple readied its AI platform for China—underscoring both the speed of deployment and the debate over AI’s impact on human capability.
MIT professor warns excessive reliance on AI is eroding human thinking and memory
- Trending
- Comments
- Latest
