ChatGPT and the Duty to Think
Capital that increases worker productivity is good. We should not let anything substitute our responsibility to reason independently.
I’m no technologist, and I’m certainly not a computer scientist. Take what I say with a grain of salt. . . or two.
ChatGPT, like all capital that complements human beings, makes us more efficient producers, thereby increasing the value we are able to enjoy. This is good. Miraculously so.
While computers are nothing new, and have proven themselves to be wonderful boons to mankind’s productive ability, I believe ChatGPT can be used in an essentially different way: ChatGPT can be used as a substitute—however imperfect—for independent observation, reasoning, and deduction. An obvious example is students deployment of the large language model to generate entire essays, even normative ones, that are assigned to test the students’ independent reasoning ability. While ChatGPT may be able to generate a mediocre essay cogently responding to the prompt it’s fed, what is the ultimate point of doing so?
As a writer, when I observe something in the world about which I have an opinion, I take the time to consider the facts, a variety of normative assessments, and, based on my own observation and idiosyncratic priors, set about determining what I believe. Once I’ve done so, I take the time to articulate my thoughts in a way that is cogent, consistent, and, hopefully, persuasive. I believe that engaging in this process of thinking is that which distinguishes human beings from other creatures, is uniquely enjoyable, and enables us to grow as the reasoning substances we essentially are.
Using a calculator to compute the output of an equation is fundamentally different than outsourcing one’s duty and opportunity to think to something outside of our minds. The former is not inimical to our flourishing; the latter is.
These musings are but one example of an exercise in contemplation, consideration, and articulation. No ChatGPT required. Not only is it not required, but using it to generate this text would deprive me of the utility of thinking and writing independently.
"ChatGPT can be used as a substitute—however imperfect—for independent observation, reasoning, and deduction. An obvious example is students deployment of the large language model to generate entire essays, even normative ones, that are assigned to test the students’ independent reasoning ability."
This right here. The value in writing a paper is not the grade or score, it's that it forces the writer to explain a complex concept into words that someone else can understand. Writing exposes gaps in knowledge, writing is a learning exercise. If you are not writing, you are not "fully" learning.