By Charli Ernstein, Arts and Culture Editor
When a little kid gets a new toy, they get so excited that they overuse it, but then they grow up and don’t get toys anymore, which is such a bummer. But then, we got ChatGPT and AI, which are like toys for adults.
Welcome to the relationship between Gen Z and ChatGPT, where people are overusing this resource — and honestly, destroying what makes us human in the process.
“Make this less AI-sounding…” “Write an email to my professor about…” “Write an essay on the topic of…” is one of the various prompts one could enter into AI.
This summer, after I turned in an assignment for a class, I received a comment from my professor that made me pause: “Make sure your work is authentic and not completed by AI.” I was shocked because I did not use AI on this assignment or any other. Regarding this same assignment, a friend of mine told me she purposefully left out commas from her original work to avoid being flagged as AI. The higher the quality of your writing, the more likely it is to be assumed AI.
How is that fair? I don’t want to lower the quality of my writing to avoid being classified as AI. Writing is something I love and that brings me great joy and satisfaction, so why should I remove some of the heart and soul from my work? Unfortunately, when ChatGPT is used without boundaries, these and other humanity-altering problems emerge.
I get it. No one has all the time in the world, so people use AI to be more efficient, as do I. It makes being a high school or college student with a passion for extracurriculars easier. It makes being a working parent easier because people can now spend extra time with their kids instead of writing emails for an eternity. But, although AI can help us maintain our fast-paced mainstream lives, it can also lead us to lose sight of the goal: to grow as intellectual beings.
I thank G-d every day for my creativity, which is why it makes me unhappy that ChatGPT users are shown to have a significantly lower level of brain engagement when completing tasks than people who don’t use it. Slowly, we are dooming ourselves to see the death of creativity. The more people use ChatGPT to do their work for them, the worse this will get. Is it worth losing brain function and the blessing of creativity and choice that we were given as humans for the sake of productivity and efficiency?
My cousin recently observed that there is a fine line between using AI as a crutch rather than a tool, and if any difference can be made in AI usage and levels of brain function, this would be it.
If we rely on AI too much, we will not have the motivation to even engage in profound and independent thought processes, and this can literally shrink our brains and decrease their functionality. Our ability to use our brains to their fullest extent, think freely and critically, and make decisions is what makes humans human. It is a disservice to ourselves that we consciously risk this gift by using AI as a “replacement” for mental engagement. This doesn’t mean it’s necessarily bad to use AI to prompt ideas, break things down, or check over grammar. That is using it as the tool that it is. But it should be your brain putting in the effort. Using AI for anything further is crossing the line into crutch territory.
With that, there is also a worry that ChatGPT will replace children’s need to communicate with others. After all, they are more likely to suffer than adults from the introduction of AI because of their limited understanding of the world. No AI technology can fully replicate the deep engagement and relationship-building experiences that come from human interaction, yet kids may one day be spending so much time with their “AI friends” that they may lose the ability to engage with the real world.
Will children grow up with manners becoming further obsolete? With AI, there is no “please” or “thank you” required. How will that impact this next generation, considering the amount of time they spend on screens?
But it isn’t just children whose characters we should be concerned for; it’s our own character, too. Rav Moshe Feinstein zt”l said that if a student gets a job because of a college degree that was earned through cheating, every dollar earned from that job is considered to be stolen. How much has AI allowed cheating to proliferate in our own school?
YU’s Academic Integrity Policy is based on core Jewish values. Modern Orthodoxy, I am sure, would welcome AI with open arms because of our desire to be invested in both Torah and madda, science and the ways of the world. And, per our value stemming from Ramban’s commentary on Kedoshim Tihiyu, its use would be in moderation. Cheating or being dishonest by way of AI violates these values and risks us being apathetic to just how serious this cheating and dishonesty is.
I won’t lie: this article was inspired by my own fear of change when it comes to AI systems. Will I be able to maintain my integrity while also integrating AI usage into my life and work? Will I figure out how to use it efficiently? Will I adapt to the change?
Would it be easier to have ChatGPT do my research for me? Yes. Would it engage my brain and challenge me to think and search? Likely not. I value this engagement, which is why it is difficult for me to accept this shift into a world in which AI plays a bigger role (but in secret, just between us: by now it has helped me cut down this article and check through grammatical errors I made in another paper).
When microwaves came around, my bubbie was absolutely against using them because she was afraid of what this change would mean for her life. This is how I feel, yet I know that it is a change I need to adapt to succeed: I need to evolve with the world. And, I am. I appreciate G-d’s gift of a newfound efficiency and His challenge in finding the line between crutch and tool.
My unsolicited advice? Attempt to look forward and see the bigger picture — the impact AI has on us. Then, act on that future you see. Value long-term gratification, know when it is appropriate to succumb to short-term gratification, and use AI with integrity. Value your brain enough to give yourself intrinsic strength and motivation to be “kovesh et yitzro,” a conqueror of your desire to use ChatGPT or other modes of AI all day, every day.
Nothing is nearly as powerful or unique as the human mind: Contemplate what G-d gave — and continues to give — to you and how it is sitting just atop your neck. Contemplate how AI getting you through high school physics would not allow you to fully understand how your head sits atop your neck without falling to the ground.
Don’t let your creativity die, because the end of creativity is so much more than just that. As Hillel says: “He who does not increase his knowledge, loses it” (Mishnah Avot 1:13).
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