Will Artificial Intelligence make us more dependent on technology?

Generative artificial intelligence with its chatbots, especially chat GPT, have arrived with the promise of changing the world. Whether for better or worse, we do not know yet. For now, we know that GPT chat writes emails, writes and translates texts, corrects spelling, and even answers and passes exams.

We asked the Clinical Psychology expert at SHA Wellness Clinic Spain, Cinthya Molina, whether artificial intelligence will increase exponentially our dependence on technology.

“I would venture to say yes. I think that artificial intelligence will make us more dependent, because in the brain and in the body in general the maxim ‘use it or lose it’ operates, and intelligence is like a muscle that has to be trained, otherwise it ends up atrophying and being lost,” she reflects.

The SHA Wellness Clinic expert recalls that she was ‘very good’ at spatial location. “On trips, I was the one who had the map and guided the group. I’ve lost all of this by always turning on the GPS. What has happened in my brain is that I have stopped using the hippocampus, the region involved in spatial orientation and responsible for that function.” All those skills have been lost due to disuse.

Molina provides another example: memory. “With technology, all data are at our fingertips, we don’t try to remember anything, we know that we can ask Google about anything and we have lost the motivation to memorise. One used to know several memorised phone numbers, now we don’t know even one“.

“I would say that artificial intelligence will make us even lazier and, perhaps, less creative, since the brain, lacking external stimuli, functions less well and becomes lazier. I can ask chat GPT to correct the spelling of an email, but if I always ask it to write them for me, I will end up losing that skill and, probably, my emails will start to look very similar to each other,” says the expert.

In her opinion, Artificial Intelligence should be an aid to our performance, but never a substitute for original thinking, creativity, the ability to establish connections, and intellectual activity. “I believe that the brain has to work in order to remain healthy. I am not a Luddite, but I do believe that these programmes with generative artificial intelligence can be useful, if we use them well to perform mechanical tasks, which can save us time,” concludes the SHA Wellness Clinic expert.

In many universities around the world, it has been proven that ChatGPT it is able to pass successfully the exams for obtianing a medical degree or a master’s degree in business in the United States. In response to this impact, some academic institutions adapt their teaching methods to incorporate ChatGPT, while others choose to implement stricter measures, such as return to oral or handwritten exams.

Without any doubt, the adoption of AI systems, such as ChatGPT, may cause fears, for example, because of the risk of academic fraud or the possibility that the need for professors will be reduced. Nevertheless, others also see ChatGPT as an opportunity to improve teaching and learning by providing quick answers to students’ questions, offering personalised feedback and one-to-one tutoring.

In the face of such controversy, some academics have outlined the risks that the use of Chat GPT may pose to the way we use and train our brains. Among them they mention technology dependency, as they believe that this tool can diminish students’ ability to research and learn independently. They also warn of the risk of “plagiarism and academic misconduct” and the loss of critical thinking skills, as they believe that getting everything already done limits the development of critical and analytical thinking.

We are witnessing one of the great advances of the 21st century and there are hardly any studies available to allow us to predict how Artificial Intelligence will evolve. At SHA WellnessClinic, we have an open mind and attitude towards new technologies, but we are also committed to health and good ageing, for which it is crucial to continue learning and using the brain to the end of our lives.