In the digital information era, with the rise of chatbots and generative AI like ChatGPT, there is a growing concern that these technologies may be crippling our ability to process knowledge in meaningful ways. Donna Haraway’s 1985 essay, A Cyborg Manifesto, lent credence to the idea of a human-machine union with the abolition of rigid boundaries, a concept that is still discussed by academics today. With this disruptive technology came a flurry of debate around what it would mean for academics and the learning process.
Universities across the globe are adopting experimental policies to regulate the use of ChatGPT for educational institutions, but the effectiveness of this external source of knowledge remains undetermined. There is a fear that generative AI could do more harm than good, reducing human intelligence, trivializing learning, and centralizing opinion creation.
The ubiquity of smartphones and internet-enabled apps has made attention spans shorter. In 2013, one hashtag trended on twitter for nearly 18 hours. By 2016, it had been reduced to less than 12. Equally worrying is the rise in academic dishonesty, with universities noting significant increases in cheating and fraud among students.
Perhaps the most concerning consequence of this shift in behaviour is the push to centralize opinions and suppress dissent. People are becoming increasingly sensitive, perceiving anything they consider “offensive” as an act of violence. This has led to a somewhat McCarthy-like environment where the expression of certain ideologies is discouraged, leading to a reduction in independent and critical thinking.
ChatGPT has certainly brought important benefits to the business world, but it may be more dangerous than beneficial when it comes to learning. In this context, a reliance on generative AI could lead to attention-deficit, information fatigue, a lack of creativity and originality, and a pervasiveness of groupthink and self-censorship.
It is clear that rather than replacing human cognition entirely, Haraway’s vision of human-machine symbiosis is the best way forward. Human intelligence and agency must be preserved in order to maintain healthy marketplaces and democratic systems, allowing humans to continue benefit from the rise in technology. It is only then that generative AI can truly empower us and our capacity to learn.
