We should be afraid of collective ignorance. I'm referring to millions of people who lack data intelligence, especially in areas where humans have had intelligence breakthroughs in the past.
Consider common school subjects such as reading, writing and numeracy. Our collective intelligence in these regions is smarter today than it was centuries ago, but many of us are stepping back in time when we were surrounded by modern technology.
How does it happen? AI is replacing or competing with human intelligence. This is called cognitive offloading. We outsource some of our intelligence to technology. When this happens, our own intellect atrophies. If this continues for generations, some people will lose their basic intelligence.
Bob High, CTO of IBM Watson, put it this way: “Our tools are often the most valuable when they expand our reach, our reach, our power, our strength, allowing us to do things we can’t do on our own. what people do."
Artificial intelligence often replaces true intelligence.
A common example today is spelling. With spell checking in Microsoft Word, autocorrect or speech-to-text in iMessage, and autocomplete in Google, many of us are using artificial intelligence to replace (rather than augment) our own intelligence. Words like beauty, pneumonia, schedule, and appreciation are often misspelled. We simply don't know how to spell them correctly.
A common example in the future could be machine-based language translation. The promise of this advancement in artificial intelligence is that we will be able to speak to a device that can instantly translate our words into any language we want. This sounds amazing, right? It depends on whether we use artificial intelligence to replace our own intelligence. This AI should not be an excuse for people to stop learning other languages. Rather, it should be our opportunity to reach more people across the globe or increase the speed at which important information spreads. AI is an incredible tool when applied correctly. When we use AI to augment our intelligence, our skills are amplified, but remain the same. It is sometimes called Intelligent Amplification (IA). For example, Augmented Vision is the concept of layering data on top of what we've already seen. Think real-time Yelp reviews in your line of sight as you walk in front of a coffee shop. It does not replace our basic vision.
Three ways to keep your true intelligence intact.
Here are three simple ways to ensure that your real intelligence isn't completely replaced by AI.
1. Practice math without a calculator.
A calculator saves time, but it's not meant to replace our math abilities. If you use a calculator or other math tool as a crutch, try manual multiplication and division. What is 286 times 9? Or 142,500 divided by 4655?
Our ability to do basic math will ensure we don't forget how to calculate a tip, verify the total amount on an invoice or bill, or convert a teaspoon to a tablespoon while cooking.
2. Drive to your next appointment without GPS assistance.
Google Maps and Waze are very common today. These apps are standard operating procedures for Uber or Lyft drivers. The smart app carefully maps each left and right turn and updates the route in real time. If you're using this form of AI every time you get from point A to point B, try viewing the route on a map and then navigating to the destination on your own.
Reading maps and navigating from one place to another builds spatial reasoning skills (i.e. seeing with our brain eyes). In contrast, GPS systems allow us to follow directions without aggregating where we've been.
3. Regular free brain test and retest.
Ironically, in the pursuit of technological advancement, we may actually be reducing our intelligence collectively. We are absorbing more and more content. We download podcasts, scan social news, search the internet and read online publications. These activities are usually bite-sized and done while multitasking. The trouble is that we ignore deep processing, which is often associated with reading long books. Deep processing is the brain's ability to focus, remember, and build meaning from previous knowledge.
Try brain tests like Cambridge Brain Science to measure your short-term memory, reasoning and speech skills. You can establish a baseline to better assess whether you are leaning down.
With the leaders of Facebook, Google, and other influential tech companies investing incredible amounts of money in artificial intelligence, you might think that basic skills are obsolete in the digital age. Maybe we can reduce several forms of intelligence. However, the benefits may have other setbacks. Case in point: It would be a shame if the development of driverless cars made it impossible for the current or future generation to drive themselves when needed.
Parts of this article were compiled from Matthew Baker 's article on the Entrepreneur website .