#Development #Explorations
From technical debt to cognitive debt · “Velocity without understanding is not sustainable.” https://ilo.im/16anlc
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#Programming #Coding #AI #CognitiveDebt #TechDebt #Terminology #WebDev #Frontend #Backend
#CognitiveDebt
*It turns out that "Artificial Intelligence" is an *inherently hallucinatory technology,* and that's not the dismissive summary, that is the *initial premise* #ZeroGravityMindset #cognitivedebt #bubble
#AIagents: As #generativeAI and #agenticAI are adopted, #cognitivedebt, the accumulation of knowledge and understanding lost due to #rapiddevelopment, becomes a greater threat than #technicaldebt. This debt, residing in developers’ minds, can hinder progress and understanding of software systems. http://margaretstorey.com/blog/2026/02/09/cognitive-debt/?eicker.news #tech #media #news
I normally like Kohler’s column when he unpacks economic news, but when he digresses into tech topics, I’m less likely to read him. I did this time (because things may change after all) but all I got from it is GenAI KoolAid and vaguely hinted at problems that #TechBros are keen on glossing over.
It is a pity that the author is not turning his analytical mind to take a closer look at what the frenetic pace of #GenAI development and the #GenAISlop it splashes about the place as it inexorably pushes forward with not only #TechnicalDebt but also #CognitiveDebt laden implementations. Sooner than we think, we’ll be faced with problems we do not know how to solve for want of the ability to #FaultFind in a sea of #sloppy and #incomprehensible machine produced code mashups.
Where to an economy held hostage to runaway coding machines? The ‘wagering system’ that is the stock market will start to look like ‘doctored’ one-arm bandits of yore. Where the wealth will flow is very obvious.
#EatTheRich #Antifa #Resistance #RedistributeWealth #UBI
#TaxReform
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-02-16/ai-jobs-fake-breakthrough-resignation-chat-gpt-claude/106346440
The scientist who predicted AI psychosis has issued another dire warning
https://www.psypost.org/the-scientist-who-predicted-ai-psychosis-has-issued-another-dire-warning/
#tech #technology #psychology #cognitivescience #neuroscience #ai #artificialintelligence #psychiatry #cognitivedebt #academia #colleges #schools #education
The article outlines Søren Dinesen Østergaard's warning that outsourcing reasoning to generative AI risks a cognitive debt that could undermine scientific discovery. It cites EEG findings showing reduced brain activation when using AI and reports of learning and recall problems linked to AI use. The discussion extends to broader educational consequences and the need for humans to retain independent reasoning in the age of AI.
It highlights how cognitive offloading and AI-assisted thinking influence learning, judgment, and decision making, topics central to cognitive and educational psychology. The piece references empirical studies on neural activation, critical thinking, and perceived competence, illustrating how technology shapes cognition and self-assessment.
Article Title: The scientist who predicted AI psychosis has issued another dire warning
Link to PsyPost Article: ift dot tt/XUi0e6O
Copy and paste broken link above into your browser and replace "dot" with "." for link to work. We have to do it this way to avoid displaying copyrighted images.
#CognitiveDebt #AIandCognition #EducationalPsychology #CriticalThinking #Neuropsychology
Warning signs your PKM isn't ready for advanced AI integration:
• Uncomfortable writing without AI nearby
• Notes starting to sound generic
• Accepting AI suggestions without questioning
• Relying on AI to find connections
• Skipping the thinking process to reach "answers"
These signs matter at every level—not just when considering progression. That's why I review my AI use quarterly. Cognitive offloading is an ever-present temptation.
Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt When Using an AI Assistant
https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt/
#HackerNews #BrainOnChatGPT #CognitiveDebt #AIUsage #TechnologyEthics #DigitalMind
RE: https://mastodon.green/@gerrymcgovern/115650272749921009
One of this article's many great points: Using #GenAI is a "metacognitive mirage".
> When participants used #ChatGPT to draft essays, brain scans revealed [-47%] in neural connectivity across regions associated with memory, language, and critical reasoning. Their brains worked less, but they felt just as engaged
> Students aren’t just learning less; their brains are learning not to learn.
#cognitiveDebt #StochasticParrots #MRI #brainDevelopment
#Chatversity replaces learning with cheating.
Will AI Bury Future Generations in Cognitive Debt? https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ai-destroying-traditional-career-automating-learning-by-doing-by-bertrand-badre-and-florian-ingen-housz-2025-10
"As companies seek to automate repetitive tasks in the name of cost-cutting, they should consider the longer-term implications. If we transfer all codified knowledge to machines, we will bequeath to future generations a world where it will be ever harder to learn by doing, to achieve mastery, and thus to aspire to creative freedom.
…Emerging markets and developing economies, which are leapfrogging straight to native, widespread #AI adoption, may view things differently. The #cognitiveDebt that we are leaving for younger people in advanced economies may be their opportunity. It will be our duty to pay attention. For now, though, acknowledging that the debt exists, and will grow, is the first step toward addressing it."
#economics
Part two of a three part series of the Artefacts newsletter - what does an LLM look like, and how does that help us think about how we use them?
Smart people use AI to get smarter
The over-reliance on chatbots leads to something researchers call “cognitive debt,” where the ability to remember and analyze declines. On the other end of the spectrum, we find a growing number of people who use AI chatbots for accelerated learning.
#artificialintelligence #ai #chatbot #learning #cognitivedebt #technology #tech
https://www.computerworld.com/article/4032753/smart-people-use-ai-to-get-smarter.html
Fascinating MIT study. tl;dr using AI to do your writing makes you stupid(er).
Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task
https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt/
PDF file: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.08872
h/t Cal Newport's Deep Questions podcast, ep. 359
A MIT study using EEGs of the brain, linguistic analysis, and post-task interviews found that using ChatGPT weakened participants’ neural connectivity, memory, and sense of ownership over their writing. #cognitivedebt https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872
A good podcast that raises red flags about that MIT Media Lab paper
I felt a little sheepish suggesting that the writing in the Media Lab paper about “cognitive debt” and ChatGPT needed some work. Ashley Juavinett, Professor of Neurobiology at UC San Diego, and psychologist Cat Hicks have no such qualms. Their podcast, “You Deserve Better Brain Research,” addresses some serious problems with this “weird document,” from the writing to methods and research design. I’m putting it up here because I enjoyed and learned from it, and I hope others will, too.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0XLGvUjtmrdEtHVaYUBo5X
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#artificialIntelligence #cognitiveDebt #dialogue #humanEncounter #LLMs #sharedCommitment
Cognitive Debt Crisis: How AI Undermines Critical Thinking
Related to my last post, some warnings and advices about using genAI (LLM). Loving these:
- "You may be trading productivity today for dumbasses in the future."
- "If you're a worker, know how to leverage AI but don't lean on it too much."
https://www.constellationr.com/blog-news/insights/what-genai-cognitive-debt-will-mean-enterprises-and-future-workforce
#genAI #LLM #CognitiveDebt #CriticalThinking
Very clarifying article about stochastic parrots and the problem of fulfilling capital expectations at any cost.
https://www.crikey.com.au/2025/06/23/inaturalist-google-partnership-artificial-intelligence-ai-big-tech/
#genAI #StochasticParrots #CognitiveDebt #Environment #Ethics
A term to remember:
Cognitive debt, a condition in which repeated reliance on external systems like LLMs replaces the effortful cognitive processes required for independent thinking.
We shouldn't worry only of the technical debt, but also cognitive debt when over-relying on the LLMs.
#technicaldebt
#cognitivedebt
Read the conclusion of the recent Media Lab paper about LLMs. It’s a Non-Friction Nightmare.
No, that’s not a typo in my title.
I’ve just had my first look at the MIT Media Lab paper that is making the rounds: “Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task.”
This paper is disturbing, to say the least. What the authors call “friction” is what we used to call thinking, or it’s at least an essential element of thinking, the effort of it. That effort includes the give and take of inquiry, the difficulty of dialogue, the sweat of education, the work of human language and human encounter.
The paper’s conclusion only scratches the surface of this problem when it addresses “ethical considerations.”
Consider what is probably the most alarming sentence here, which describes what happens when you reduce friction: people reach the conclusions the algorithm wants them to reach – or, rather, the algorithm reaches conclusions for them; people reach for nothing at all.
It’s surrender. Not just to machines, mind you, not just to the algorithm, but also to the interests (“the priorities”) the algorithm represents.
By surrendering to the these priorities, allowing ourselves to be guided by them, we’re also throwing in the towel on shared human experience, co-coordination and mutual guidance, reliance on each other and shared commitment — which is the only way we can work out our own priorities.
Finally, I can’t post this on my blog (a little center of friction in its own right) without saying something about the writing here.
I know this is a draft paper, but this conclusion sure could use another going-over. It’s not just the typo in the penultimate paragraph (“theis” instead of “their”) that needs correcting; there’s also that awkward bit about “net positive for the humans” in the final paragraph (which sounds like it came straight from an LLM) and the resort to cliche (“technological crossroads”) and industry jargon (“unprecedented opportunities for enhancing learning and information access”). The findings here deserve more clarity.
Last, I’d like to see a little more about the social and political consequences that would seem to follow inevitably from the “cognitive consequences” the authors document. But maybe that’s a matter for another paper.
As we stand at this technological crossroads, it becomes crucial to understand the full spectrum of cognitive consequences associated with LLM integration in educational and informational contexts. While these tools offer unprecedented opportunities for enhancing learning and information access, their potential impact on cognitive development, critical thinking, and intellectual independence demands a very careful consideration and continued research.
The LLM undeniably reduced the friction involved in answering participants’ questions compared to the Search Engine. However, this convenience came at a cognitive cost, diminishing users’ inclination to critically evaluate the LLM’s output or ”opinions” (probabilistic answers based on the training datasets). This highlights a concerning evolution of the ‘echo chamber’ effect: rather than disappearing, it has adapted to shape user exposure through algorithmically curated content. What is ranked as “top” is ultimately influenced by the priorities of the LLM’s shareholders….
Only a few participants in the interviews mentioned that they did not follow the “thinking” [124] aspect of the LLMs and pursued their line of ideation and thinking.
Regarding ethical considerations, participants who were in the Brain-only group reported higher satisfaction and demonstrated higher brain connectivity, compared to other groups. Essays written with the help of LLM carried a lesser significance or value to the participants (impaired ownership, Figure 8), as they spent less time on writing (Figure 33), and mostly failed to provide a quote from theis [sic] essays (Session 1, Figure 6, Figure 7).
Human teachers “closed the loop” by detecting the LLM-generated essays, as they recognized the conventional structure and homogeneity of the delivered points for each essay within the topic and group.
We believe that the longitudinal studies are needed in order to understand the long-term impact of the LLMs on the human brain, before LLMs are recognized as something that is net positive for the humans.
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#artificialIntelligence #cognitiveDebt #dialogue #friction #humanEncounter #language #LLMs #resistance #sharedCommitment
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