Kinda - it was about people being unable to do maths if they rely too much on calculators. And it’s actually a valid argument, if you care about mental maths*.
There are two differences here, though:
- Calculators are rather good at simple calculations. Large language models suck at outputting anything resembling critical thinking. They’re always bullshitting, and unless you have good critical thinking you’ll swallow bullshit after bullshit, because your tool requires a skill that you don’t have due to your unrestricted usage of that tool.
- Critical thinking is a considerably bigger deal than being able to do simple maths by head or by hand.
*you should - it’s often faster and less laborious to do coarse maths by head than by calculator, and it allows you to spot errors you wouldn’t otherwise. Same deal with any other tool, tools are great but you should be able to do the basics without them too.
gibmiser@lemmy.world 3 days ago
While i agree, don’t pretend this isn’t orders of magnitude different in how it can effect how people go about solving problems.
Behavioral psychology is going to have fun unraveling just how it changes people’s action and thinking.
SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 3 days ago
A web search was orders of magnitude different then going to a library to look up sources.
OShagHennessy@lemm.ee [bot] 3 days ago
Amount of work ≠ Type of work
SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 3 days ago
In a library you know if you’re in fiction or non-fiction.
In a web search you have to consider the source before you even start to read or use it.