Discussion
When I was a teen the first computer spellcheckers became popular. I always struggled with spelling and decided to use them whenever possible. One of my teachers said "but you may never learn how to spell on your own if you lean on these tools too much"
She was correct.
This could happen to your 10th grader, but it's not spelling it's being able to write a paragraph.
@futurebird The ability to memorise a set of phone numbers is not something I feel is a great loss, but I certainly _have_ lost it since I stopped using it.
Exactly. We can give many examples of cognitive skills that will vanish if they are not used. It happens fast and recovery is possible but slow.
For young people first learning these skills the impact may be much deeper. The young person may never learn that it is possible to have their own literally voice and they will be forever limited by parameters of what is normal and expected in written expression.
@futurebird @RogerBW Basically, AI is an opt-in developmental disability.
With spelling there isn't any creativity that I will never unlock, but with sentence and paragraph construction young people may run the risk of never developing a literary voice.
We will be deprived of their wit poetry and rhythm and in its place all we'll get is the bland low-sugar applesauce of LLM generated content.
That's a loss.
Especially if the voices are less standard.
@futurebird "With spelling there isn't any creativity that I will never unlock"
Have you seen English? :)
English has a ton of weirdisms, but they're admittedly mostly static
Spelling is tied to grammar and therefore creative expression for languages where words change based on use ( e.g. Spanish, French, German )
I find Automunge distracting when in creative mode and an obstacle when trying to get an idea down
spellcheck for jotting notes or grocery lists, maybe
but not for writing
One of my favorite student proofs was written by a student who was just learning to speak English. He'd get frustrated with long explanations and just switch to equations or diagrams and write "it is like this:"
Then demonstrate his point.
He could have run the final draft through and LLM and it would add some pointless sentences to pad out the proof so it was less terse and more like every other proof ever written.
It would have been worse.
Not everyone will be a writer, but everyone has a way of expressing their ideas that is unique and that conveys more that the bullet point summary of the paragraph.
Finding the mode of expression through speaking and writing is part of the self-discovery process, it's part of growing up and becoming YOU.
I suspect heavy reliance on text generating tools could lead to a loss of identity. An inability to recognize yourself because your words are interchangeable with the words of everyone else.
From "I think, therefore I am" to "I prompt, therefore I am".
From tool users to tool employees.
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