Again, I love this! Exactly as I see it. AI does not kill your brain; you do it when you refuse to think. And there is no need to blame it on AI, just look at your smartphone. I was experimenting with AI in teaching, solely for my own purposes, to see what works better. Most of the students thought I was stupid or lazy when I let them use it, and I was curious whether they had learned anything at all. Not much, I have to admit. I did it poorly, but I learned from it. And I have no regrets; learning is a choice. There will always be people who skip it because they don't want to put in the effort. It is not the AI, as you say, it is us, being lazy humans.
I am a like a child who sees the candy she wants on the top shelf where she can't possibly reach, and along comes Ethan Mollick, a clever shelf stocker with a tall ladder. My eyes grow big, surely he will climb that ladder and get that candy for me. But no, he smiles and waves his hand as if to say, go ahead! I will make the climb for the prize, but not without trepidation!
....and I have just reached the candy. In the time since I posted my comment, I have used the AI Tutor prompt in this post to create my first custom GPT designed to help leadership teams "revisit what they've learned, reflect on their strengths, and onboard new members to shared practices." Thank you to the kind man with tall ladder.
I have been sitting with this article for 3 days now and I am so deeply appreciative of the Ethan and Lilach Mollick's share of prompts. I search my memory of any resource that has ever been as helpful to me. After I completed the AI tutor ( which I used to help me create a customized GPT) I added my files and suggested prompts with credits this team. It is an auspicious beginning to what I believe is a career shaping discovery which I will now share with leaders in public service as they navigate this unprecedented period of change.
I have had so many people tell me after seeing the news blip about the “MIT study” that AI damages people’s brains. I reviewed the paper and understood that what MIT’s study succeeded in was in confirming that AI used wrong can render lazy or even no thinking. Ethan refers to how AI assistants guided by strong pedagogies can actually render improved academic performance. I did a similar study (unpublished yet) where I had 6 students use a Muse 4 channel eeg system to monitor their brainwaves while using AI done right vs. sitting in a classroom listening to a professor lecture at them. The difference in brain activity was stark. Students were far more engaged mentally when using an AI assistant that asked guiding questions and an assistant that help them construct learning that was congruent with their interests. As for AI done right, my book: University Revolution - Artificial Intelligence and the Transformation of Learning seeks to ground AI facilitated learning in the rich pedagogies stemming from Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato, to the experiential learning theories of Thomas Dewey and more.
Ethan, I very much agree with you. Like you, I now have a rule about writing first, before I ask ChatGPT to chime in. Even when I’m using it in my writing, I give it very specific instructions about what I want from it you’re right – – the biggest danger is that we give in to laziness and outsource our thinking to it.
Again, I love this! Exactly as I see it. AI does not kill your brain; you do it when you refuse to think. And there is no need to blame it on AI, just look at your smartphone. I was experimenting with AI in teaching, solely for my own purposes, to see what works better. Most of the students thought I was stupid or lazy when I let them use it, and I was curious whether they had learned anything at all. Not much, I have to admit. I did it poorly, but I learned from it. And I have no regrets; learning is a choice. There will always be people who skip it because they don't want to put in the effort. It is not the AI, as you say, it is us, being lazy humans.
I am a like a child who sees the candy she wants on the top shelf where she can't possibly reach, and along comes Ethan Mollick, a clever shelf stocker with a tall ladder. My eyes grow big, surely he will climb that ladder and get that candy for me. But no, he smiles and waves his hand as if to say, go ahead! I will make the climb for the prize, but not without trepidation!
....and I have just reached the candy. In the time since I posted my comment, I have used the AI Tutor prompt in this post to create my first custom GPT designed to help leadership teams "revisit what they've learned, reflect on their strengths, and onboard new members to shared practices." Thank you to the kind man with tall ladder.
I have been sitting with this article for 3 days now and I am so deeply appreciative of the Ethan and Lilach Mollick's share of prompts. I search my memory of any resource that has ever been as helpful to me. After I completed the AI tutor ( which I used to help me create a customized GPT) I added my files and suggested prompts with credits this team. It is an auspicious beginning to what I believe is a career shaping discovery which I will now share with leaders in public service as they navigate this unprecedented period of change.
I have had so many people tell me after seeing the news blip about the “MIT study” that AI damages people’s brains. I reviewed the paper and understood that what MIT’s study succeeded in was in confirming that AI used wrong can render lazy or even no thinking. Ethan refers to how AI assistants guided by strong pedagogies can actually render improved academic performance. I did a similar study (unpublished yet) where I had 6 students use a Muse 4 channel eeg system to monitor their brainwaves while using AI done right vs. sitting in a classroom listening to a professor lecture at them. The difference in brain activity was stark. Students were far more engaged mentally when using an AI assistant that asked guiding questions and an assistant that help them construct learning that was congruent with their interests. As for AI done right, my book: University Revolution - Artificial Intelligence and the Transformation of Learning seeks to ground AI facilitated learning in the rich pedagogies stemming from Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato, to the experiential learning theories of Thomas Dewey and more.
Ethan, I very much agree with you. Like you, I now have a rule about writing first, before I ask ChatGPT to chime in. Even when I’m using it in my writing, I give it very specific instructions about what I want from it you’re right – – the biggest danger is that we give in to laziness and outsource our thinking to it.