‘equivalent to being around one year of schooling ahead of their peers’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcRY6M5_mvo&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
https://pivottoai.libsyn.com/20260908-students-who-dont-use-ai-are-ahead-on-every-measure - podcast
time: 4 min 14 sec



Of course there are people trying to find a silver lining to this by conjuring up the hypothetical scenario where a student only uses the AI to aid in learning the material instead of just doing all the work.
First, any convenience in learning the material just reduces your ability to learn it. The friction involved with learning may seem like an inconvenience to be smoothed away, but it turns out that the friction is how learning happens. It’s called engaging with the material. This has been the case with previous technologies: handwriting is better for retaining memory than typing (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11943480/), although it seems like AI is on an entire new level. (I guess there is some commentary about the sadly common worldview that life is about avoiding inconveniences. I feel like this mindset draws a lot of people to AI.)
Second, there is a very thin line between “helping” you learn the material and just doing the work for you. The temptation to cut corners is always there, and when you have the Corner Cutting Machine at your disposal, you are kidding yourself if you think you will have perfect discipline. Tools influence behavior.
You know what i don’t ever see? People arguing AI helped them become a better athlete…
turns out there are no shortcuts for that, unless they are drugs… which is generally considered cheating and comes with horrible and dangerous side-effects…
AI is PEDs for the brain except they don’t actually enhance performance or make you feel good