7 ms·

Brain activity much lower when using AI chatbots, MIT boffins find

49 points by dijksterhuis 1y ago

robviren 1y ago
I feel this depends entirely on how you use it. Using it as a rubber duck to talk through ideas? doubt my brain activity is lower because of that. Using it to stub out boiler plate code? I'm glad my brain activity is lower for that. I won't use AI for emails or creative content, but I'll for sure use it as a sounding board and as a trivial task completer. I bet my brain activity is lower using a calculator. Nuance does not make for a flashy article title.
- bluefirebrand 1y ago
  I think the calculator example is apt, but flawed Is it safe to say that people are generally much worse at mental math nowadays due to calculators being ready available on every smartphone? I think it is reasonable to assume that's true. Math is more accessible thanks to tools now, but people are worse at it in general? If that's true, that we became worse at mental math thanks to readily available tools, then what does it suggest about a readily available tool that "thinks" for us? The same way we used to caution devs not to just copy and paste from Stack Overflow, we now have to repeat with AI... Except AI is being pushed to literally take over that whole workflow! At least with Stack Overflow you had to identify where in the code to paste it! Edit: A further thought in Math. I suppose there is a difference between "Math" and "Calculation". Likely due to modern education people do know (at least vaguely) more about Math than before. Maybe the skill of actually performing calculations is not that valuable as long as you have some baseline understanding of the underlying Math Still the problem with AI tools is they promise to do the Calculation and also understand the Math for you. To calculate an angle you need to know enough Trig to figure out which sides you need to measure and which function you need to use on the Calculator. With AI, in theory, you just ask it what it needs to calculate that angle, it tells you, you measure, input the numbers, and it gives you the angle back. No Human understanding of anything required. A total loss imo You can view it as freeing our cognitive abilities for other things I view it as never developing cognitive abilities because we never had to actually use them
  - cgriswald 1y ago
    Why would that be reasonable to assume? Even ignoring that calculators were ubiquitous long before smart phones existed, a google search can give you actual facts. A quick search suggests otherwise but I’ll let you do your own. People can still do math in their head (and on paper) despite the existence of calculators. They can still dig holes by hand despite the existence of shovels. And they can still write a for loop despite the existence of AI.
    - bluefirebrand 1y ago
      > People can still do math in their head (and on paper) despite the existence of calculators Because in the past we recognized the value of teaching people that way first I don't know about you but when I was growing up we were not allowed to use calculators in class or on tests for years until we started to need them for functions like trig and graphing
      - cgriswald 1y ago
        If there are people out there teaching calculator math to first graders there ought to be data on how that is working out. But it shouldn’t be a surprise that an unlearned skill remains unlearned. The question is whether a learned skill is “much worse” in the presence of a tool. You seem to be agreeing that it isn’t (or at least doesn’t have to be), but that danger lies in just never learning the skill.
        bluefirebrand 1y ago
        > but that danger lies in just never learning the skill Yes, which is what I think AI contributes to Especially with reckless ideas like "vibe coding" going around
        cgriswald 1y ago
        We don't really see that with calculators, though. We see that people who already don't do mental math are enabled to do more math. Those of us who can do mental math can benefit from calculators but don't lose the skill we've learned. As far as I know (which could easily be out of date), arithmetic is still taught sans calculators in most places. "Vibe coding" is primarily being done by people who already weren't learning to program. If programming was taught as ubiquitously and early as arithmetic, they either wouldn't be vibe coding or they were never going to program in the first place because for whatever reason they were unable or unwilling to develop the skill. So you could see this as a loss of potential, but I suspect it is far more of a democratization of programming. If we're looking at parallels, we should be looking at WYSIWYG webpage creation tools rather than calculators. Did that destroy knowledge of HTML and CSS?
- coffeefirst 1y ago
  Right. And this may be the problem. The tool-makers really try to sell this as a service to use as a crutch rather than a tool. There's a huge mental gap between "use the LM to research some stuff I'm writing an email about, and cite sources" and "write the email for me."
SirFatty 1y ago
I knew that was a Register headline...
- fxtentacle 1y ago
  ... because nobody else uses "boffins" as a positive word anymore.
  - SirFatty 1y ago
    Because no one else uses "boffins" in tech headline. e.g. "UK gov asks university boffins to pinpoint cyber growth areas where it should splash cash"
    - JdeBP 1y ago
      On the contrary, there are uses of "boffins" for "tech" articles in U.K. tabloids such as The Sun, The Daily Star, and The Daily Mirror within the past 3 days alone. It looks like the request from 2023 fell on deaf ears. * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44318264 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44318264
      - deleted 1y ago
        [deleted]
  - OJFord 1y ago
    Where are you from? In the UK I'd say it's uncommon but positive. The abbreviation 'boff' is mildly perjorative, but I haven't heard that since school (i.e. 'grade school'), I suppose since at some point around puberty it stops being insulting to say someone's clever.
  - tempodox 1y ago
    You may have had unsuccessful support for your thesis here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44318264 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44318264
gnabgib 1y ago
Discussion (342 points, 3 days ago, 385 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44286277 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44286277
- JdeBP 1y ago
  With more comments on duplicates at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44307057 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44307057 , https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44252489 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44252489 , and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44296711 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44296711 .
- dijksterhuis 1y ago
  ah balls. on me. at least more people get to see the word boffin today /s
  - AlecSchueler 1y ago
    No worries, we all forgot the previous discussion because our brains are AI mush.
strangescript 1y ago
I am sure my brain activity is lower when I use a calculator instead of doing math by hand as well. -- Nothing like a 100% accurate statement getting downvotes because people hate AI
incomingpain 1y ago
"Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create hard times." This happens via brain connections and brain activity. The good times means less tribulations and the weak men simply havent formed the brain pathways. AI makes for 'good times' and the easy 'low brain engagement' is the identified problem. These scanned folks likely are using AI wrong. Never ask AI "summarize this book" for me. You're missing out on reading the book. What if you read the book and then ask "What did this book miss?" or "give me ideas on what i can do to expand on the ideas in this book" The way i look at it, dont 'reduce' only 'expand' The way I found this, back in the day video games were awesome and then an EXPANSION was added that expanded the game. So when working on my open source projects, I was always asking 'whats the next expansion?" Something that i love asking ai. "Here's my project and what it does. What are the next big ideas that can be added."
- rcxdude 1y ago
  >"Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create hard times." This is an aphorism that mostly doesn't bear out historically. Good times tended to make people wealthy, and wealthy people tended to be stronger, not weaker.
  - hombre_fatal 1y ago
    It's definitely a trite aphorism, but presumably it's talking about endurance in the face of adversity, not physical strength. I've thought of that aphorism from time to time when I encounter people on vacation here in Mexico, let's say, who seem to become a wreck when some small thing doesn't go as they'd liked. Like the kitchen is outside next to the pool, so there's no A/C and how dreadful is that. And the boy at the cenote charged them 60 pesos ($3) while a sign says that resident Mexicans only pay 30 pesos and that's unfair for someone who has 10x the wage of the resident Mexicans. And someone had a chicken on the bus going to Guadalajara. And now they're going to grumble with their spouse for six hours over it. And there was an iguana in their shower this morning so now they're getting management involved. I'm thinking this is a weak, pathetic man crippled by a life too comfortable.
joegibbs 1y ago
Isn't that the whole point? It wouldn't be any use for anyone if a new technology did the same thing as before but made it harder rather than easier.
- Barrin92 1y ago
  It would be of great use if it did that. Technology can roughly be grouped in two categories. One that enhances, amplifies and develops innate human capacity, and tools that diminish it. Using a bow engages more faculties, both physical and mental than clobbering someone on the head but it's also a more effective tool. Using a debugger is both a difficult skill but also useful. You grow, and have to increase your aptitude , with the tool use. An exercise bike and meditation practice are harder than a sleeping pill and ozempic. Chatbots are more in the category of the 400 pound guy driving through wallmart on his electric scooter. Whatever use it has, it almost certainly diminishes if not totally atrophies their ability to move. Given that the modern framing of technology has changed to "what does it do for me" rather than "what does it do to me", it's not surprising that people are largely not capable to understand the difference.
JKCalhoun 1y ago
I use the analogy of chatting with a Smart Friend™ about programming. Something I have done my entire career. ;-)
- bluefirebrand 1y ago
  My Smart Friends throughout my career have never kissed my ass the way chatbots do. It's probably part of the reason I kept improving over time
  - JKCalhoun 1y ago
    You raise a good point. (My Smart Friends in fact seemed annoyed whenever they saw me strolling over to their cubicle — might have made me do it less?)
bargainbin 1y ago
Tool that gains popularity for reducing cognitive load is found to reduce cognitive load. Shocker. I expect better from El Reg.
- amelius 1y ago
  Why? Cognitive load could go elsewhere. Like going from low-level programming to better architecture decisions.
  - panxyh 1y ago
    Because people are lazy.
  - mensetmanusman 1y ago
    Where it will go is discovering more ways to eat sugar.
  - bluefirebrand 1y ago
    Why would it go to better architecture decisions when you can just ask the AI to make those too? The Human problem with "the everything machine" is that it does "everything" and by and large Humans really do need to do something while we're alive
    - amelius 1y ago
      > Why would it go to better architecture decisions when you can just ask the AI to make those too? Because anyone could do that. To remain competitive, humans will have to keep using their cognitive functions.
      - bluefirebrand 1y ago
        Remaining competitive is already such an exhausting, burnout fueled treadmill I cannot imagine how miserable it will be trying to keep up with the AI slop firehose
0x416c6578 1y ago
In my completely uneducated-in-this-field view, "brain activity" can be broken down into two distinct types - the first type involves the raw procedural work required to solve a problem like 3012 x 42 in one's head, and the second involves higher level conceptual, critical and creative thinking required to say write a book or design a complex algorithm. In the past, computers, calculators etc. have reduced the need for type 1 thinking, but I believe LLMs are increasingly replacing (or emulating / mimicking) type 2 thinking which - again entirely in my view - is more harmful to individuals and society as a whole.
m3kw9 1y ago
Any data on vs TV and reading TikTok?
anonu 1y ago
TIL: boffin
mediumsmart 1y ago
What about using the AI chatbot while riding an electric bike in traffic?
ssgodderidge 1y ago
Link to original MIT project overview referenced in OP link: https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/your-brain-on-chatgpt/overview/ https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/your-brain-on-chatgpt/ove...
eth0up 1y ago
I think this entirely depends on the application, if that's not self evident. I do not have many options for discussions anymore. This is for various reasons. Some of the dialogue I've experienced through various LLM systems has been far more intriguing and thought provoking than 90 percent of my human conversations. I distinctly recall thinking how great it was to have something to substitute the former roles of bygone friends, some of who were both highly educated and intelligent. Some of my more enjoyable discussions have been in the realm of guerilla physics. So one could easily enough argue that my mind was wasting away while being cheaply entertained by bullshit. But other subjects have been equally satisfying and quite rewarding. Some credit may be due to very meticulous prompt construction. Or perhaps the simple earnestness of my inquiries. If my time spent in these sessions has reduced my cognitive activity, it is miraculous that I can function so well in a coma around most actual people, who do verily inspire one -- a coma, that is. A deep one.
m3kw9 1y ago
If I’m talking to a chatbot vs humans, I don’t really have to worry about social aspects of talking and that’s a lot of load
maxehmookau 1y ago
"Using AI chatbots actually reduces activity in the brain" I love the use of the word "actually" there, as if anybody were under the illusion that using LLMs makes individual humans smarter.
whatamidoingyo 1y ago
I recently went to the theater with my wife to see the new Karate Kid movie. We discussed it a bit after, and I said it felt a bit rushed. Like, the character goes from being in a Chinese kung fu temple, to being in the US, with a girlfriend - and an enemy - in the first 10 minutes of the movie. She made a really good point: we're in the TikTok era. After she said this, it made much more sense. The whole movie felt like "reels" stitched together, with no scene lasting longer than 5 minutes. It makes me wonder if people today (especially younger people) would be able to watch a movie like the Godfather? I have doubts. Honestly, I'm terrified of where we are heading as a species.
- PretzelPirate 1y ago
  > The whole movie felt like "reels" stitched together, with no scene lasting longer than 5 minutes. I felt the same way about the first hour of the new mission impossible movie. It was so annoying to me that I left after that, so maybe it got better in hour two.
  - whatamidoingyo 1y ago
    We considered Mission Impossible as well. Glad we didn't. I will probably never watch another movie again if this is what movies are.
- Bombthecat 1y ago
  I just watched the new smurfs trailer. This comment is spot on. It felt like a mix between a short, and ad for... Generation tiktok
- kamaal 1y ago
  >>It makes me wonder if people today (especially younger people) would be able to watch a movie like the Godfather? I have doubts. Last time I watched the movie 'The Irishman' with family, they all seem pretty tuned out by 15 mins. It does feel like like addiction to reels/tiktok does have its toll. For that matter, due to Twitter exposure, I do have problems reading books. When I probed ChatGPT a little, it tells me writing with a real pen and paper is now a super power as it lets you move slowly, pause, think etc.
deleted 1y ago
[deleted]
ValveFan6969 1y ago
[dead]

49 points by dijksterhuis 1y ago

I feel this depends entirely on how you use it. Using it as a rubber duck to talk through ideas? doubt my brain activity is lower because of that. Using it to stub out boiler plate code? I'm glad my brain activity is lower for that. I won't use AI for emails or creative content, but I'll for sure use it as a sounding board and as a trivial task completer. I bet my brain activity is lower using a calculator. Nuance does not make for a flashy article title.

bluefirebrand 1y ago
I think the calculator example is apt, but flawed Is it safe to say that people are generally much worse at mental math nowadays due to calculators being ready available on every smartphone? I think it is reasonable to assume that's true. Math is more accessible thanks to tools now, but people are worse at it in general? If that's true, that we became worse at mental math thanks to readily available tools, then what does it suggest about a readily available tool that "thinks" for us? The same way we used to caution devs not to just copy and paste from Stack Overflow, we now have to repeat with AI... Except AI is being pushed to literally take over that whole workflow! At least with Stack Overflow you had to identify where in the code to paste it! Edit: A further thought in Math. I suppose there is a difference between "Math" and "Calculation". Likely due to modern education people do know (at least vaguely) more about Math than before. Maybe the skill of actually performing calculations is not that valuable as long as you have some baseline understanding of the underlying Math Still the problem with AI tools is they promise to do the Calculation and also understand the Math for you. To calculate an angle you need to know enough Trig to figure out which sides you need to measure and which function you need to use on the Calculator. With AI, in theory, you just ask it what it needs to calculate that angle, it tells you, you measure, input the numbers, and it gives you the angle back. No Human understanding of anything required. A total loss imo You can view it as freeing our cognitive abilities for other things I view it as never developing cognitive abilities because we never had to actually use them
- cgriswald 1y ago
  Why would that be reasonable to assume? Even ignoring that calculators were ubiquitous long before smart phones existed, a google search can give you actual facts. A quick search suggests otherwise but I’ll let you do your own. People can still do math in their head (and on paper) despite the existence of calculators. They can still dig holes by hand despite the existence of shovels. And they can still write a for loop despite the existence of AI.
  - bluefirebrand 1y ago
    > People can still do math in their head (and on paper) despite the existence of calculators Because in the past we recognized the value of teaching people that way first I don't know about you but when I was growing up we were not allowed to use calculators in class or on tests for years until we started to need them for functions like trig and graphing
    - cgriswald 1y ago
      If there are people out there teaching calculator math to first graders there ought to be data on how that is working out. But it shouldn’t be a surprise that an unlearned skill remains unlearned. The question is whether a learned skill is “much worse” in the presence of a tool. You seem to be agreeing that it isn’t (or at least doesn’t have to be), but that danger lies in just never learning the skill.
      - bluefirebrand 1y ago
        > but that danger lies in just never learning the skill Yes, which is what I think AI contributes to Especially with reckless ideas like "vibe coding" going around
        cgriswald 1y ago
        We don't really see that with calculators, though. We see that people who already don't do mental math are enabled to do more math. Those of us who can do mental math can benefit from calculators but don't lose the skill we've learned. As far as I know (which could easily be out of date), arithmetic is still taught sans calculators in most places. "Vibe coding" is primarily being done by people who already weren't learning to program. If programming was taught as ubiquitously and early as arithmetic, they either wouldn't be vibe coding or they were never going to program in the first place because for whatever reason they were unable or unwilling to develop the skill. So you could see this as a loss of potential, but I suspect it is far more of a democratization of programming. If we're looking at parallels, we should be looking at WYSIWYG webpage creation tools rather than calculators. Did that destroy knowledge of HTML and CSS?
coffeefirst 1y ago
Right. And this may be the problem. The tool-makers really try to sell this as a service to use as a crutch rather than a tool. There's a huge mental gap between "use the LM to research some stuff I'm writing an email about, and cite sources" and "write the email for me."

SirFatty 1y ago

I knew that was a Register headline...

fxtentacle 1y ago
... because nobody else uses "boffins" as a positive word anymore.
- SirFatty 1y ago
  Because no one else uses "boffins" in tech headline. e.g. "UK gov asks university boffins to pinpoint cyber growth areas where it should splash cash"
  - JdeBP 1y ago
    On the contrary, there are uses of "boffins" for "tech" articles in U.K. tabloids such as The Sun, The Daily Star, and The Daily Mirror within the past 3 days alone. It looks like the request from 2023 fell on deaf ears. * https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44318264 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44318264
    - deleted 1y ago
      [deleted]
- OJFord 1y ago
  Where are you from? In the UK I'd say it's uncommon but positive. The abbreviation 'boff' is mildly perjorative, but I haven't heard that since school (i.e. 'grade school'), I suppose since at some point around puberty it stops being insulting to say someone's clever.
- tempodox 1y ago
  You may have had unsuccessful support for your thesis here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44318264 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44318264

gnabgib 1y ago

Discussion (342 points, 3 days ago, 385 comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44286277 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44286277

JdeBP 1y ago
With more comments on duplicates at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44307057 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44307057 , https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44252489 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44252489 , and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44296711 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44296711 .
dijksterhuis 1y ago
ah balls. on me. at least more people get to see the word boffin today /s
- AlecSchueler 1y ago
  No worries, we all forgot the previous discussion because our brains are AI mush.

strangescript 1y ago

I am sure my brain activity is lower when I use a calculator instead of doing math by hand as well. -- Nothing like a 100% accurate statement getting downvotes because people hate AI

incomingpain 1y ago

"Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create hard times." This happens via brain connections and brain activity. The good times means less tribulations and the weak men simply havent formed the brain pathways. AI makes for 'good times' and the easy 'low brain engagement' is the identified problem. These scanned folks likely are using AI wrong. Never ask AI "summarize this book" for me. You're missing out on reading the book. What if you read the book and then ask "What did this book miss?" or "give me ideas on what i can do to expand on the ideas in this book" The way i look at it, dont 'reduce' only 'expand' The way I found this, back in the day video games were awesome and then an EXPANSION was added that expanded the game. So when working on my open source projects, I was always asking 'whats the next expansion?" Something that i love asking ai. "Here's my project and what it does. What are the next big ideas that can be added."

rcxdude 1y ago
>"Hard times create strong men, strong men create good times, good times create weak men, weak men create hard times." This is an aphorism that mostly doesn't bear out historically. Good times tended to make people wealthy, and wealthy people tended to be stronger, not weaker.
- hombre_fatal 1y ago
  It's definitely a trite aphorism, but presumably it's talking about endurance in the face of adversity, not physical strength. I've thought of that aphorism from time to time when I encounter people on vacation here in Mexico, let's say, who seem to become a wreck when some small thing doesn't go as they'd liked. Like the kitchen is outside next to the pool, so there's no A/C and how dreadful is that. And the boy at the cenote charged them 60 pesos ($3) while a sign says that resident Mexicans only pay 30 pesos and that's unfair for someone who has 10x the wage of the resident Mexicans. And someone had a chicken on the bus going to Guadalajara. And now they're going to grumble with their spouse for six hours over it. And there was an iguana in their shower this morning so now they're getting management involved. I'm thinking this is a weak, pathetic man crippled by a life too comfortable.

joegibbs 1y ago

Isn't that the whole point? It wouldn't be any use for anyone if a new technology did the same thing as before but made it harder rather than easier.

Barrin92 1y ago
It would be of great use if it did that. Technology can roughly be grouped in two categories. One that enhances, amplifies and develops innate human capacity, and tools that diminish it. Using a bow engages more faculties, both physical and mental than clobbering someone on the head but it's also a more effective tool. Using a debugger is both a difficult skill but also useful. You grow, and have to increase your aptitude , with the tool use. An exercise bike and meditation practice are harder than a sleeping pill and ozempic. Chatbots are more in the category of the 400 pound guy driving through wallmart on his electric scooter. Whatever use it has, it almost certainly diminishes if not totally atrophies their ability to move. Given that the modern framing of technology has changed to "what does it do for me" rather than "what does it do to me", it's not surprising that people are largely not capable to understand the difference.

JKCalhoun 1y ago

I use the analogy of chatting with a Smart Friend™ about programming. Something I have done my entire career. ;-)

bluefirebrand 1y ago
My Smart Friends throughout my career have never kissed my ass the way chatbots do. It's probably part of the reason I kept improving over time
- JKCalhoun 1y ago
  You raise a good point. (My Smart Friends in fact seemed annoyed whenever they saw me strolling over to their cubicle — might have made me do it less?)

bargainbin 1y ago

Tool that gains popularity for reducing cognitive load is found to reduce cognitive load. Shocker. I expect better from El Reg.

amelius 1y ago
Why? Cognitive load could go elsewhere. Like going from low-level programming to better architecture decisions.
- panxyh 1y ago
  Because people are lazy.
- mensetmanusman 1y ago
  Where it will go is discovering more ways to eat sugar.
- bluefirebrand 1y ago
  Why would it go to better architecture decisions when you can just ask the AI to make those too? The Human problem with "the everything machine" is that it does "everything" and by and large Humans really do need to do something while we're alive
  - amelius 1y ago
    > Why would it go to better architecture decisions when you can just ask the AI to make those too? Because anyone could do that. To remain competitive, humans will have to keep using their cognitive functions.
    - bluefirebrand 1y ago
      Remaining competitive is already such an exhausting, burnout fueled treadmill I cannot imagine how miserable it will be trying to keep up with the AI slop firehose

0x416c6578 1y ago

In my completely uneducated-in-this-field view, "brain activity" can be broken down into two distinct types - the first type involves the raw procedural work required to solve a problem like 3012 x 42 in one's head, and the second involves higher level conceptual, critical and creative thinking required to say write a book or design a complex algorithm. In the past, computers, calculators etc. have reduced the need for type 1 thinking, but I believe LLMs are increasingly replacing (or emulating / mimicking) type 2 thinking which - again entirely in my view - is more harmful to individuals and society as a whole.

m3kw9 1y ago

Any data on vs TV and reading TikTok?

anonu 1y ago

TIL: boffin

mediumsmart 1y ago

What about using the AI chatbot while riding an electric bike in traffic?

ssgodderidge 1y ago

Link to original MIT project overview referenced in OP link: https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/your-brain-on-chatgpt/overview/ https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/your-brain-on-chatgpt/ove...

eth0up 1y ago

I think this entirely depends on the application, if that's not self evident. I do not have many options for discussions anymore. This is for various reasons. Some of the dialogue I've experienced through various LLM systems has been far more intriguing and thought provoking than 90 percent of my human conversations. I distinctly recall thinking how great it was to have something to substitute the former roles of bygone friends, some of who were both highly educated and intelligent. Some of my more enjoyable discussions have been in the realm of guerilla physics. So one could easily enough argue that my mind was wasting away while being cheaply entertained by bullshit. But other subjects have been equally satisfying and quite rewarding. Some credit may be due to very meticulous prompt construction. Or perhaps the simple earnestness of my inquiries. If my time spent in these sessions has reduced my cognitive activity, it is miraculous that I can function so well in a coma around most actual people, who do verily inspire one -- a coma, that is. A deep one.

m3kw9 1y ago

If I’m talking to a chatbot vs humans, I don’t really have to worry about social aspects of talking and that’s a lot of load

maxehmookau 1y ago

"Using AI chatbots actually reduces activity in the brain" I love the use of the word "actually" there, as if anybody were under the illusion that using LLMs makes individual humans smarter.

whatamidoingyo 1y ago

I recently went to the theater with my wife to see the new Karate Kid movie. We discussed it a bit after, and I said it felt a bit rushed. Like, the character goes from being in a Chinese kung fu temple, to being in the US, with a girlfriend - and an enemy - in the first 10 minutes of the movie. She made a really good point: we're in the TikTok era. After she said this, it made much more sense. The whole movie felt like "reels" stitched together, with no scene lasting longer than 5 minutes. It makes me wonder if people today (especially younger people) would be able to watch a movie like the Godfather? I have doubts. Honestly, I'm terrified of where we are heading as a species.

PretzelPirate 1y ago
> The whole movie felt like "reels" stitched together, with no scene lasting longer than 5 minutes. I felt the same way about the first hour of the new mission impossible movie. It was so annoying to me that I left after that, so maybe it got better in hour two.
- whatamidoingyo 1y ago
  We considered Mission Impossible as well. Glad we didn't. I will probably never watch another movie again if this is what movies are.
Bombthecat 1y ago
I just watched the new smurfs trailer. This comment is spot on. It felt like a mix between a short, and ad for... Generation tiktok
kamaal 1y ago
>>It makes me wonder if people today (especially younger people) would be able to watch a movie like the Godfather? I have doubts. Last time I watched the movie 'The Irishman' with family, they all seem pretty tuned out by 15 mins. It does feel like like addiction to reels/tiktok does have its toll. For that matter, due to Twitter exposure, I do have problems reading books. When I probed ChatGPT a little, it tells me writing with a real pen and paper is now a super power as it lets you move slowly, pause, think etc.

deleted 1y ago

[deleted]

ValveFan6969 1y ago

[dead]