This is a story that will surprise no one who reads my newsletter regularly, but what was surprising to me over the past few weeks is how regularly I’m seeing examples of the same conclusion coming up in multiple stories across many sources. This week alone, there was a story in Fast Company about how cognitive scientists found that using AI for just 10 minutes impairs brain performance. Just a day later, 404 Media reported that many developers believe that AI is not only making them dumber but leading to a widespread de-skilling within their industry.
As automated tools make our work easier, they also make the reality of brain rot a major concern as we may start forgetting to do the things that were previously essential in our work. Some would suggest that we have seen this before. Most of us who haven’t spent time on a farm don’t know how to skin a chicken or milk a cow anymore. Many younger people have already lost the ability to read a map or write in cursive. Thanks to automation in cars, many next-generation drivers will never need to learn how to parallel park.
You may look at some of these shifts and see them as great modern conveniences. After all, who ever loved parallel parking? Or you may see these as lost arts worth mourning. I do still love a good map, personally. Either way, this is going to be a tension we all experience in our lives with greater frequency. The question of what skills to retain and which ones to give up will soon be a daily decision for us all—if it hasn’t become one already.