5 Ways To Use AI—Without Surrendering Your Brain
Five takeaways:
When you ask AI to perform a task (such as composing an email) you are performing what psychologists call “cognitive offloading.” Studies have shown that people who do too much cognitive offloading experience decreased hippocampal activity and spatial memory.
The bottom line: if you outsource your brain’s work, your brain’s functionality will decrease. Here are 5 ways to actively & intentionally combat this process, without losing out on the potential benefits AI presents for efficiency and optimization.
- Learn to be ‘bored’ before using AI: Constant stimulation is unhealthy. Do not let AI’s access to unlimited, instant information eliminate your quiet, reflective thought. Instead of using AI tools to compose everything you write, take a moment to write things out by hand, brainstorm away from your screen. Actively maintain your brain’s ability to “be quiet.”
- Use AI to create your own learning ladders: When exploring a new topic or skill with AI, use it not just to simplify, but to explore new, increasingly complex topics. Use it to compound your learning, starting with a beginner-level explanation, then progress to intermediate and advanced levels. You can even ask AI to test you on what you’ve learned.
- Use AI for scaffolding and not solutions: No matter how advanced AI tools become, it will not have nuanced understanding of every personal, individual problem you encounter. Stop short of asking it for definitive answers to your problems; instead, rely on it to build frameworks that organize information and reveal connections that help you to a solution. Ask for structured outlines or visual maps to clarify key considerations and decision points, then work through each element independently using that structure as a guide.
- Make AI your intellectual sparring partner: By actively challenging AI’s responses when you ask it questions, you can use it to sharpen your thinking. Once you’ve formed your own view on a topic, ask your AI client for the strongest counterarguments, explore multiple alternative approaches, and have AI play devil’s advocate to test your conclusions—then assess its critiques to refine your ideas further. This will help you maintain a level of engaged, critical thinking.
- Maintain AI-free time blocks: Enhance your use of AI by being intentional about when not to use it. Create first drafts of creative or analytical work on your own, without use of AI. Take regular “thinking walks” free from devices, and practice your own skills of recall. These habits help keep your core brain function sharp while still using AI where it adds the most value.
We urge you to learn more about AI’s possibilities on your own– but remember: despite their potential, they come with clear cognitive cost. Use these tools to keep your brain at full potential as these tools continue to develop.
by Lars Daniel for Forbes:
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