Is AI making us Stupid?

Building Great TechFeb 12, 202622 min

Simon Hook and Anastasija Krysa tackle the uncomfortable question of whether our AI-powered digital habits are literally rewiring our brains for the worse. They present compelling research showing TikTok usage reduces memory performance to near-random levels and explore how AI content generation may be creating permanent cognitive gaps similar to substance-induced impairment.

Key takeaways

  • TikTok scrolling reduces memory performance to barely better than random guessing, suggesting serious cognitive impact from short-form video consumption.
  • AI writing tools create permanent gaps in memory retention by removing the effort required for information processing and encoding.
  • Cognitive abilities like verbal reasoning, problem solving, and abstract thinking are measurably declining across populations in the AI era.
  • AI now produces an estimated 70% of social media content, creating a feedback loop where artificial intelligence shapes human cognitive patterns.
  • The current AI cognition debate mirrors historical concerns about Google making us stupid, suggesting cyclical technology adoption anxieties.

Listen to full episode

0:00
Subscribe to Building Great Tech:Apple PodcastsYouTubeWebsite

Two episodes. Free. Clips before your next meeting.

No card. No setup call. Paste your episode and see what Clypt surfaces.

2 free episodes, no card. Keep every clip and trailer. Mac required.