As we hear more and more about investments into artificial intelligence, is this technology actually causing our brains to rot? If we’re not careful with how we use it… maybe, according to Paul Hochman, president of Humongous Media.
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He joined Judson Richards this week on WBBM Newsradio’s Noon Business Hour to discuss how to avoid full out brain rot in a world where AI and online culture continues to grow.
“If people depend on AI in their jobs and their tasks, their daily lives, anything from asking for answers on where to go on a great vacation to what do you think of this deal on a car – you name it – those requests of AI return answers. But in the returning of those answers, the hippocampus, which is the part of your brain that is generally speaking in charge of memory, begins to shrink,” Hochmann told Richards.
He said studies are already showing that AI use is reshaping the brain. However, people who turn to ChatGPT for the occasional vacation recommendation shouldn’t despair. There are ways to save the brain.
Hochmann said a beacon of brain hope comes from an unlikely source: London cabbies, who are a bit like human GPS systems. To pass their exams and start shuttling people across the city, they have to memorize the names and locations of 25,000 streets. Research shows that London cabbies also have an unusually large hippocampus, Hochmann said. Emergency medical technician drivers do too.
So, those looking to mitigate hours of social media doom scrolling or extended sessions with AI chatbots can give their own hippocampus a workout by heading out for a drive without GPS, Hochmann added. If driving, or spending money on gas, isn’t appealing, reading a book can also work wonders, he said.
“Reading has been shown as a great way to strengthen the brain, especially the hippocampus, critical thinking, analytical thinking, all the things where you’re holding two ideas in your mind at the same time,” Hochmann explained.
Overall, practicing critical thinking is key to avoiding true brain rot or AI-induced hippocampus shrinkage. It’s also especially important to keep critical thinking turned on when dealing with AI.
“Ironically a liberal arts education is probably one of the most important things you can learn in an AI world,” Hochmann said. “The reason is... you can judge with critical thinking and all sorts of background knowledge, you can judge if the answer you just got from the prompt is accurate.”