ChatGPT could make humans less intelligent by eroding our skills and memories, experts warn
ARTIFICIAL intelligence experts have expressed that ChatGPT could be making humans dumber.
ChatGPT, an advanced chatbot, was released by tech giant OpenAI in November last year.
The chatbot can complete tasks like answering prompts, writing essays and generating complex code in seconds.
And as time goes on, the language learning model (LLM) is reportedly programmed to get smarter.
However, a study conducted by Standford University and UC Berkeley found that this might not be the case,
“The behavior of GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 has varied significantly over a
relatively short amount of time,” the study reads.
“This highlights the need to continuously evaluate and assess the behavior of LLMs in production applications.”
In light of these new findings, experts believe that ChatGPT might also be hurting the human brain.
Tech writer Jodie Cook highlights some ways this might be the case in a new Forbes article.
The most obvious way is a growing dependence on instant answers to prompts and queries.
“As soon as you open up ChatGPT, Claude, or your favorite LLM, you can type in any prompt and get a response,” Cooke writes.
“With instant answers now available, why would you expend any energy thinking?”
Another concern is a reduction in memory retention, which can have long-term cognitive implications.
“Requiring less information on tap might lead to storing less information in the brain,” Cook explains.
“In a bid to become more efficient, memory cells diminish, memory retention goes out the window, and cognitive abilities slowly decline,” she adds.
A third problem with using LLMs is the potential for humans to lose valuable skills such as writing and communication.
ChatGPT can indeed generate grammatically correct text – and even sounds human-like.
However, this text may not be as well-written or persuasive as human effort.
If we rely too heavily on LLMs, then over time, our written skills may suffer.
Cook concludes her article with a stark warning: “Be aware of the pitfalls to take all the benefits without these very real costs.”