By malisa @Adobe Stock
Machines vs Humanity
Trite as it may be, the phrase can be applied in many areas of our lives: cooking, writing, investing, gardening, exercising, and most aspects of living. In American Greatness, Thaddeus McCotter discusses results from researchers studying AI:
A key irony of automation is that by mechanizing routine tasks and leaving exception-handling to the human user, you deprive the user of the routine opportunities to practice their judgement and strengthen their cognitive musculature, leaving them atrophied and unprepared when the exceptions do arise.
Data shows a shift in cognitive effort as knowledge workers increasingly move from task execution to oversight when using GenAI. Surprisingly, while AI can improve efficiency, it may also reduce critical engagement, particularly in routine or lower-stakes tasks in which users simply rely on AI, raising concerns about long-term reliance and diminished independent problem-solving.
Results are both surprising and disturbing, notes Mr. McCotter. Disturbing, maybe, but ”surprising”? Really? How long can critical thinking skills be ignored without damaging creativity and cognitive abilities?
Award-winning screenwriter Paul Schrader challenges researchers’ views about AI.
I’M STUNNED. … I just asked ChatGPT for ‘an idea for Paul Schrader film…’ Every idea ChatGPT came up with (in a few seconds) was good. And original. And fleshed out. Why should writers sit around for months searching for a good idea when AI can provide one in seconds?
In a previous post, Mr. Schrader admitted that AI was smarter than he.
McCotter is smart enough not to challenge Mr. Schrader’s claim. Instead, McCotter cites a recent study from Uplevel: “AI coding assistants like GitHub Copilot are not significantly improving developer productivity or preventing burnout, despite the hype surrounding these tools.”
Perhaps surprisingly, results showed “no meaningful improvements in key metrics such as pull request cycle time and throughput for those using the AI coding assistants. This finding contradicts the claims made by GitHub and other proponents of AI coding tools, who have touted massive productivity gains.”
The left has been actively aiming to weaponize AI to suit their ideological and political agenda.
Trust the Science
The “science” that fits the left’s narrative becomes ever more ominous.
With AI what really matters in modern society is the ‘discourse of power,’ which is wholly detached from any ideas of objective truth. Controlling the “narrative” is the mechanism of power—which includes the use of technology to manage the flow of information and manipulate key propaganda concepts like healthy and normal . . .
What is politically true is what the power structure declares to be true. For all practical purposes, that is how our society works now.
McCotter believes that as mesmerizing as the lure is, humanity won’t be eaten by AI.
We are facing the very real prospect of our humanity being diminished by machines. And so many of our fellow human beings heedlessly run headlong into its bloodless, calculating cuckoo’s nest.
Will humanity be diminished by machines?
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