“Anything you rely on can become a crutch. And disabled or not, when you rely on something, that is what will cripple you.” – RJ Mitte

ChatGPT is purported to be a tool.  When does a tool become a crutch?  A tool assists and aids functionality.  A crutch, on the other hand, assists and aids dysfunctionality.  When anything transitions from a tool to a crutch, the resultant effect is that dysfunction has replaced function.

Is ChatGPT a tool or a crutch? 

Obviously, when utilized as a supplement to one’s intellect ChatGPT is a tool.  But what if ChatGPT becomes, not a supplement but rather a primary means of intellectual expression?  In this case, our personal agency would be lost due to the transition of ChatGPT from a tool to a crutch.  Our functional intellect would effectually become increasingly dysfunctional.

What are the chances ChatGPT will become a crutch?

Independent thought takes more effort than dependent thought.  ChatGPT could become a time saver and an effort saver.  Humans have always looked for an easier pathway.  Human nature has always looked for a short cut.  Today more than ever, the speed of life puts time demands on every part of our existence. 

Currently, every part of modern living is looking for a shortcut. Texting has gone from thank you to TY. Our icons on our computer are the shortcuts to getting where we want to go online.

Every part of our current existence is designed to speed things up. It used to be just our cars and our love life needed to be faster, now it is everything.  Technology is about a truncated lifestyle ⁽¹⁾.

Will this need for speed dictate our choice to use AI rather than our personal agency?  The temptation is already there for anyone under time constraints to become more dependent on ChatGPT as a crutch rather than a tool.  Our independent thought is under pressure to rely on the speed and scope of AI. 

“And I think the greatest danger that AI poses isn't so much these anthropomorphic beings who look like us and are beguiling are going to fool us. It's the fact that an intelligence without a body or corporeal form will fool us into trusting it with data, which we seem to think is... it has no repercussions.” - Lisa Joy

What are the costs of moving from independent thought toward dependent thought?

When becoming more dependent we lose our uniqueness.  Every human on the planet is a miracle in that the odds of becoming a fertilized cell are about 20 billion to 1. 

Our unique qualities allow for an unlimited potentiality of ideas.  To move away from this independence of thought toward a more generic thought would begin to replace all the permutations of the human mind. 

AI is information not knowledge.  Knowledge requires the melding of information with context.  To meld information to context requires critical thinking skills not just information.  Without this process of continually creating new knowledge our information may become irrelevant.  Over time even factual information will change due to new information and new knowledge. 

The cost of limiting the human component of thought to AI would make the creation of new knowledge less likely.  The loss of confidence that humans would experience when relinquishing their independent thought would be detrimental to human motivation for the future acquisition of knowledge. 

“You can't assess the value of an innovation in isolation, you have to consider whose hands it's in.” – Hannah Fry

Innovation: Human or AI

Innovation, at least at this time in history, is about the human intellect not AI.  When and if AI becomes the primary innovator of ideas opens up a whole new set of issues for the human species.  Will these innovative thoughts produced by AI be about human growth or increased technological control? 

We can already see this dependency on technological progress creating new issues for human adaptation.  The further you happen to be in age from the techno revolution the greater some of these challenges to adapt have become.

Human services that used to be available for questions are now machines that do not answer questions when they breakdown.  Humans are left with no one to turn to because the machine is inoperable.  Technology is not always more efficient even though that is the purported purpose of technology.

Humans are now expected to be their own service providers more and more because machines are replacing humans in airports, in telephone service, in homes, and even at MacDonalds.  Self-service has taken on new meaning as technology continues to replace what humans used to provide.  For the elderly, this has caused huge adaptation challenges.  And, the age of facing the rising challenge of increased technology will begin to decrease as more and more technological change occurs.  We can already see that some IT specialists are complaining that they are having trouble keeping up with the pace of change.

Our Future

What sort of future does this trend portend for critical thinking?  It appears that the time saving and effort saving properties of technology predicted in the beginning of the techno revolution have evolved in the opposite direction.  We are so consumed with technology, phones, laptops, I-pads, etc., that our time to think and reflect is becoming less and less.  Our dependency on technology is growing exponentially. 

We now spend more time and more effort figuring out technology in our modern lifestyle than we spent doing similar activities when we were completely manual.  AI management of phone service takes minutes and sometimes hours, when in the past a human would answer and it would be only seconds.  Airport checking in to depart used to take minutes and that can now take hours.  Going through computer generated applications that used to be done by phone can now take hours rather than minutes.

Maybe the time and effort saving properties of technology have reached a point of diminishing returns.  Assuming this is even partially the case, what does our future look like?  I would suggest that we may have to look forward to even more time and more effort for less of a payoff.  Technology has given us so much.  This is true.  However, at the same time technology has taken a lot away.  And it appears it will continue to do so.    

Reference

1-Wilson, B. (2023).  A Truncated Lifestyle.  Psychology Today, April 3, 2023.

Dr Bruce Wilson is a psychologist with 30 years of experience. He enjoys sharing his ramblings with friends and colleagues. He currently offers appointments through Hoppers Psychology. This article is solely his work. You can find further information on Bruce’s services and experience via the following link: https://www.hopperspsychology.com.au/dr-bruce-wilson