Keep Technology Caged

AI Isn’t Your Academic Friend

By Amy Barr with The Lukeion Project

At least in theory, students can now grab their essay or paper prompt from their educators, load that prompt into an AI (artificial intelligence) text generator, add a few specifications and— voila— their essay or writing project is finished to perfection! Now, some students might suppose, there’s plenty of time left in the day to do other things in their now cleverly cleared schedule. Is this a win?

The obvious answer to this question is no. Let’s explore why.

The simplest reason why having AI complete your assigned writing projects is NOT a win is that you are cheating when you do so. Having anyone else, even if that person’s “brains” are made of the digital input of hundreds of thousands of documents stolen from the internet, is cheating because you completed none of the work and none of the thinking needed to address the assignment. This is literally a no-brainer.

Why do your mean-old educators insist that you personally employ brain and hands to write when AI can oversee such time-wasters for you? Is technology not here to help us? There will come a day when AI has its place in your life that will be helpful rather than a hindrance. My prediction is that AI will have its moment in the sun for a while longer until thinking-humans begin to yearn for bespoke, hand-made, human originated music, art, video, and literature. AI will eventually find its spot in more helpful areas than creating more genuinely human activities and, of course, cute cat videos. For now, AI isn’t your academic friend.

While it goes without saying, I’ll say it anyway: those who never learn to read (because AI summarized your whole reading assignment in a single simple paragraph) nor write (because AI took only 60 seconds to finish your assigned task) are consigned to the sorts of lives led by people who are illiterate. Those that don’t read and write are no better than those who can’t. The implications for the future of humanity are, to say the least, bleak if most students hand off all major tasks of academic development to something that is not much more than a fast complex database filled with other people’s words and ideas. Even if something like the plot-line of the movie Terminator unfolds once Skynet takes over, nobody would notice. They’d be too busy generating weird cat videos or deepfake videos of your siblings.

What’s in store for those who insist on using unsanctioned AI in coursework? As quickly as AI is being promoted as a grand new way to improve education, human educators are developing ways to catch its use and stop it. AI has plenty of useful applications in the real world, but its use must be consigned strictly to learning enhancement not knowledge replacement.  

One might argue that nobody really needs to learn algebra or calculus (that’s what calculators do) or chemistry (the periodic chart is handy online) so why learn to read or write if AI will take care of these tasks for us? We are on a rapidly swirling whirlpool towards our own demise if we relegate our future to the menial chores of cleaning up after our more intelligent AI overlords.

For now, you should know this:

·        All your educators can check for your use of AI in written projects of all sizes. A bloated database of word soup will read that way because that is how most AI has been trained to write.

·        If your work “reads” as AI, we will offer diminishing benefits-of-the-doubt in our responses. Applying a grammar checker or a spelling checker doesn’t change your work to read as AI generated content. None of your educators are buying that excuse. There are, at least for now, very specific tells when work isn’t written by a human. If your work is scanned as digitally generated, you will be removed from classes for cheating.

·        If you have dabbled in using unsanctioned AI for your submitted coursework, stop now. When your honest peers have progressed in their studies by mastering assigned skills through use, you’ll be trapped at whatever level you achieved before you started turning to digitally enhanced “help” to finish your work for you.

Only time will tell if my distrust of AI diminishes or increases but, so far, I’m not encouraged by what I see coming at us down the road. We are all going to be targeted relentlessly with fast, cheap, easy ways to remove humans from needing to accomplish the basic tasks of thinking thoughts and recording them skillfully and responding to others thoughtfully and cleverly. When all of that is gone from us, what will there be?

The Winter Brain

Your Brain Needs Renovation

By Amy Barr with The Lukeion Project

The modern world has provided even average people countless luxuries. We have light and climate control on command. We have entertainment at the push of a button. We have food available when we like with very little effort involved plus all the benefits of easy chilling, heating, and preparation or even delivery. Any kind of food is available year-round with little thought about what is in season and when it tastes best. Clothes are washed and dried at the press of a button. What we do in an average week would be unimaginable 75 or 100 years ago, but would our ancestors consider us more, or less, fortunate for all our innovation? Riddled with issues like anxiety and depression, I’d say we’ve missed out on a few things that used to be normal.

Before our days could be extended by turning on lights and our food ready the instant we are, we were governed by the seasons and natural changes that used to program our behavior throughout the year. Warmer months offered physical exertion and longer days to grow and prepare food that would need to last all year or firewood that would keep us well later in the season.  Colder months used to let us regain our physical balance while we had the chance to use our brains differently. Winter used to be the season for restoration.

While we can’t go back to the days before electricity offered the luxuries we have today (nor would most of us want to), we can go out of our way to find a few ways to restore ourselves and our winter brains. Here are four things you can do in the winter months to help yourself regain equilibrium plus mental calm and health.

Sleep on a Consistent Schedule

When enjoying some days off in the winter months, have you ever spent several days in a row up late as you tried out the newest released game or “binge” watching some favorite show? Maybe you are finally going to get the chance to read that new release or perhaps you’d like to watch all 12+ hours of some movie series! Fun…right? Here’s a tip. If you have the chance for activities that make you happy, still stick to a consistent sleep schedule. Just swinging back and forth between late nights and even later mornings and then back again as your schedule dictates will increase feelings of unease. Your body and brain really appreciate regularity so, if anything, add more sleep to your schedule instead of less.

Even very poor families who struggled for resources looked forward to the part of the year when physical labor was diminished and, due to weather changes, people needed to attend to tasks inside. While you might “make hay while the sun shines” all summer long, you looked forward to relatively effortless winter hours when you could put on a pot of food to simmer and then enjoy a nice power-nap before dinner. Naps are now a rarity as our every minute is scheduled. That’s why the winter brain craves them. Find a good spot and snooze when you can.   

Mindless Tasks and Manual Chores

Winter is the right time to address mindless tasks. It used to be the best time to mend broken items, craft items (wood, knitting, sewing), or read a favorite book. Most of these chores were communal. Mimic such times today by picking mindless tasks and inviting a friend or family member to join in. Settle in to make, cook, craft, read, paint, play music, or whatever could be done while you caught up with the thoughts and jokes of those you love.  Want to learn a new instrument or clean your room? Maybe your chess skills need brushing up or your violin needs extra practice. Maybe you have a group of friends who want to hang out, get a bit festive with them and cook dinner together from scratch and laugh at or (better) love the results. Winter is the right time for mindless tasks and manual chores but there’s no need for dread. These can be quite pleasant plus they keep you inside off icy streets if you get them!

Most importantly, don’t resort to the easiest time wasters like movies, games, or scrolling online. If you don’t already limit your screen time (or if you resent those that try to do on your behalf), give it a try. If you’ve let yourself get too habituated on phone or tablet time, it will be a big struggle at first to give it up. Most of us are addicted and it isn’t pretty. Track how much time you spend on the blue screens for a regular day in your schedule before you dial it back. You’ll probably be shocked unless you and your family have had the good sense to never get hooked.

Almost a third of Americans are online or on a blue screen full time from the moment they wake up until the minute their tired hand drops their phones as they fall asleep at night.  The percentage of “constantly connected” is nearly half of our population if we only count people under age 50. Getting screen time down to something more manageable (something more like an hour instead of 16 hours) will be a major battle but, for the sake of your mental health, I strongly recommend it. Screens won’t go away without a fight so look for ways to walk away from technology by leaving phones, tablets, and televisions far away from your temptation zone. Start by sitting at a table for dinner with no television going. If you have other family members willing to cut back screens, stack any phones or devices in another room and then just talk. I guarantee you’ll start to feel better if you normally just stare at a screen while you chew.

Don’t Neglect Going Outside

If you live somewhere that gets cold or wet during the winter months, don’t use that as an excuse to hole up in your hidey-hole for several months. Your winter brain needs light (especially early morning and late afternoon) and fresh air. Besides, your dog needs a walk, your friend needs a visit, and your health needs you to move and breathe. If you are fortunate, you’ll even get to do something that is seasonally unique. When I was young, we didn’t have the money for anything too formal, but I lived near the Rocky Mountains. We’d find somebody willing to drive us and then we’d blow up some innertubes (those rubbery things that used to go in every car tire) and shoot down snowy mountains with reckless abandon. Sure, we’d have a few bruises and even a little sunburn as we’d crawl home soggy and cold after dark, but we’d sleep perfectly for a week afterwards.

Cook and Eat Well

I’m a big advocate of eating with the seasons. Winter is about restoring our bodies with soups, broths, root veggies, slow cooked winter greens, and anything else that is available this time of year. Most modern people have no idea what’s still growing this time of year or why we should often limit ourselves to such local things, but a little garden plot will soon help you learn.  Even as I type I think about my own patch of winter carrots, kale, sweet potatoes, and crunchy greens along with other foods I’ve grown or fostered. Our bodies appreciate the nourishing wealth of slowly cooked food in the winter months while it is cozy to run an oven for long periods or simmer something in a big pot. Find a good cookbook and learn how to make these tasty but humble winter items that are true to you (and your family’s) tastebuds and preferences.

Winter, if done well, should nourish and restore our bodies and brains. We have much to do. Feed your winter brain well with all these healing habits.You'll find that everything--from mental acuity, academic excellence, and social acumen--will all improve with a bit of winter rest.

Learn as Much as You Can

You'll Have it to Use

By Dr. Susan Fisher with The Lukeion Project

There is a recurring trope circulating among the old and crusty about things they learned in school and never had to use in real life. Two of the popular topics are math like algebra and oddly enough learning to play the recorder. As is the way of social media, these tropes are met with a cadre of people who agree that they have never once in their adult lives used algebra or have played the recorder. Then there is the other side that will tirelessly list out the myriad ways in which they have used algebra and what their nascent recorder learning ultimately did for their music careers. The two sides then have a useless argument and ultimately everyone leaves until the next time the trope comes around. What always amazes me about these futile internet fights is that both sides seem to miss the bigger picture. And that is, whatever skill you learn, be it algebra, the recorder, or something else, you will use it because you’ll have it to use.

Huh?

Hear me out on this one. Say I decide to start learning Portuguese today, which honestly sounds like a fantastic idea because who wouldn’t want to learn Portuguese? Once I begin learning that language a whole host of things seen and unseen will open up for me. I’ll be rewiring my brain. I’ll become able to converse with people I would not necessarily have been able to converse with before. I will get a richer understanding of my own language and culture. I might start thinking about visiting Portugal or Brazil or Guinea-Bissau or Mozambique when I might not have considered it previously. Those are just a few of the obvious things. More subtle things will happen too. I will start noticing Portuguese-related things in the world that I missed before and that will open up a host of other interesting things. The list goes on and on. Most importantly, I will have a skill that I will be able to use. This is the important part because none of us knows where life will take us.

People who scoff at learning different things because they can’t see a practical application for them in their lives are working under the false assumption that they know exactly where their lives will take them. It’s a great idea to dream and plan for a specific life path but talk to anyone who has been around a few decades and they will tell you that things rarely go exactly how you plan them. In fact, often they go much better. You will live beyond your wildest dreams or imaginings and do things you never thought you would do.

Back when I was teaching Latin in private school, I had a student whom I adored but was self-admittedly the consummate goof-off. He did fine, but not great, despite having the ability to do so. The fact was that he just didn’t see Latin as having anything to do with his future plans. All my talk about rewiring your brain, beefing up your logic skills, how cool it is to learn about another culture and how that can give you real insight into your own, yada yada yada fell on completely deaf ears. Well, three years into college he emailed me and told me he was taking Greek because he had a calling and was heading into ministry. He said it was going okay but that he really wished he had taken Latin more seriously because it would have helped so much with learning Greek. I didn’t say, “I told you so,” even though I kind of wanted to, because he already knew it, plus that’s just mean. What I did say, though, was, “Isn’t it funny where life has taken you?” Not ha ha funny, but ironic. He knew what I meant, and he agreed. He had no idea just three years before that Latin of all things would be a skill he would need for furthering his life’s work. We just can’t see everything that is going to happen for us.

Returning then to the old and crusty people on the internet. How did they get so crusty? Surely people with more years of life experience should know that life rarely takes us where we think we’re going. Are they failing to see how the different things they learned over all their years allowed them to do the things they did? Are they missing the connections? Probably. After all, so many of the benefits of what we learn are unseen. What’s more disturbing, though, is the thought that their failure to learn things, because they saw them as inapplicable to their lives, actually kept their worlds small, their paths boring, and their opportunities few. In short, they didn’t use skills because they didn’t have them to use, and their lives have become an internet crust-fest about elementary school recorders.

Ultimately the choice is ours in what skills we learn and how well we learn them, and there certainly isn’t enough time to do everything. But it pays to keep in mind the fact that the skills we learn, whatever they may be, will be of use to us because we will have those skills to use. And no matter how dull, weird or inapplicable they may seem, they will bring us interesting and meaningful opportunities. To completely mangle a wonderful poem by Robert Frost, I personally am choosing the path less crusty: not scoffing at learning new things but embracing them and learning them well, even if I don’t see a direct application for them in my life. For I know it will make all the difference.

 

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

 

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

 

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

 

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

 

Robert Frost