Two somewhat related stories caught my eye this week:
“People are saying less each year. Scientists think that’s a problem.” — from the Post.
“What Do Students Lose When They Stop Writing?” — from the Times.
Both stories are about the changing behavior young people are exhibiting in response to artificial intelligence and other factors.
Much has been made about the so-called Gen Z “stare,” which is a a neutral, deadpan face with wide or fixed eyes and no emotional reaction in situations where a verbal response would be expected.
Some think this is a consequence of the social isolation children faced during the Covid lockdowns. And there is a general consensus that heavy consumption of social media is somehow involved.
Meanwhile, the direct correlation between AI and a marked decline in students’ writing skills has been firmly established.
“Educators are worried that many students can no longer write essays without AI,” reports the Times. “And it’s costing more than just grammar skills.”
A majority of high school students are turning to AI for help with their homework, including writing assignments. Not everyone thinks this is a bad thing.
“The scholars who study writing and cognition are rarely reflexively opposed to AI,” says the Times. “Many have spent decades anticipating a leap in computer-assisted writing, just like the one we are living through. They tend to be excited by the technology’s potential.”
Still, if students turn to AI instead of doing the hard work of learning to write on their own, many educators think they will suffer as a result.
“Cognitive research confirms that writing is a powerful aid in helping us to retain information we read. The work of writing forces us to stress-test our ideas, allowing the writer to respond to counterarguments and cite sources. Revision is a practice of self-critique and self-improvement, and can be social, as well, if feedback is elicited. Writing can also be empowering, allowing us to share our experiences and express our views. It can even be healing, which is why therapists sometimes suggest keeping a journal.”
Last year, according to the Times, “a small study from M.I.T. showed that individuals who wrote in partnership with A.I. chatbots recorded lower brain activity while they wrote, compared with those who worked without chatbots. The writers who used AI struggled to remember what, exactly, they had written, and felt little ownership over their work.”
Additional research suggests using AI can degrade critical thinking skills.
One thing is certain. AI is here to stay and as is the case with all disruptive technologies, the way humans interact with each other will be deeply affected.
But if it means we forget how to tell each other stories, spoken or written, that would be a very sad ending.
HEADLINES:
US envoys Witkoff, Kushner arrive in Moscow for talks on peace in Ukraine (Reuters)
Pentagon Subjects Roughly 50 Members of the Joint Staff to Polygraph Tests in Expanded Leak Hunt (NYT)
Lindsay Clancy judge declares mistrial – what happens next? (Guardian)
U.S. added 162,000 jobs in August, but wage growth continues to lag inflation (NBC)
Unemployed Americans say they’re stuck in a job-hunting nightmare (BI)
U.S. Diesel Prices Set New High (NYT)
Supreme Court hands Trump another win — a monkey wrench into voting by mail (The Hill)
Judge Once Again Blocks Mail-In Ballot Rules (NYT)
Democrats just got one seat closer to retaking the House (Silver Bulletin)
Democrats eye expanded Medicare coverage if they take U.S. House (WP)
Germany’s far-right AfD party is poised for power in a state election (NPR)
How could US-Iran conflict end? Three experts give their views (BBC)
A deadly strike on an Iranian wedding was likely a direct hit by a US munition (Reuters)
US urged to consider military strikes to stop China achieving AGI first (SCMP)
The Texas experiment (FT)
‘Too lazy to do the job’: Democrats dump on Fetterman after WSJ report (WSJ)
Planting billions of trees in China to fight climate change backfired, altering the water distribution across the entire country (Earth.com)
Two trapped workers are pulled alive from Nepal tunnel more than a week after deadly floods (NBC)
President Plans to Use Qatari Jet for Overseas Flight Despite Security Concerns (NYT)
Psychedelic ‘Furthur’ bus rolls back into San Francisco for new Grateful Dead exhibit (AP)
Second complete map of a fruit fly brain completed (ArsTechnica)
Wendell Berry, 1934–2026 (Bulwark)
ChatGPT-6 Astra is here — this one prompt shows what it can really do (Tom’s Guide)
South Korea’s AI rally is reshaping romance, reality shows and academic preferences (CNBC)
We managed financial crises. AI is a risk of a different kind. (WP)
After OpenAI’s Bots Went Rogue, Watchdogs Were Kept on a Short Leash (NYT)
God Struggling To Remember Why He Made So Many Ugly People (Onion)
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