AI should not be dismissed as simply a tool for cheaters and the lazy, argues Agnieszka Piotrowska (University of Gdańsk). Piotrowska discusses a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study that claims large language model users may face a 47% decline in brain activity, asserting that this is not the whole story. Sharing how she uses AI in her research as a tool to support her own creativity, Piotrowska emphasizes the distinction between “outsourcing thought” and “using [AI] to think better.” She then compares AI to other developments—including calculators, the internet, and written language—to conclude that despite the discomfort surrounding something new, academics should approach the tool in a way that ensures the partnership with it is “conscious, ethical and transformative.”
