As We May Think
Bush argued that future devices should store knowledge like this biological structure in the human body.
brain
The experiment found that participants primed with difficult trivia questions were more likely to think about this.
Internet
This technology, when used excessively, was found to impair spatial memory and scene recognition.
GPS
The main danger of AI in research, according to the authors.
Illusion of Understanding
The key skill that Pfau warns students will lose if they rely too much on AI for learning.
critical thinking
A device Bush imagined as an early form of the internet, designed to store and retrieve vast amounts of knowledge.
Memex
The main finding of the study: People are more likely to remember this about information rather than the information itself.
Where to find it.
The experimental tech used to simulate driving in this study to assess navigation performance.
Driving Simulator
The paradox discussed in the article: AI increases scientific productivity, but decreases this.
scientific understanding
The reason students may feel less ownership over their education when using AI.
loss of intellectual agency
A modern-day example of Bush’s vision for associative memory storage.
hyperlinks (like Wikipedia’s interconnected articles)
The broader concern raised by this study about long-term reliance on search engines.
Decline in internal memory retention and over-reliance on technology
The key difference in navigation ability between people who used GPS and those who relied on traditional maps.
route recall and environmental awareness for non-GPS users
The risk that AI may encourage a narrow approach to scientific research, limiting alternative viewpoints.
Scientific Monoculture.
The term Pfau uses to describe how AI turns learning into mere task management rather than intellectual engagement.
logistical thinking (or intellectual atrophy)
The main problem Bush believed scientists would face in the future due to rapid information growth.
The cognitive process that describes how people rely on external memory sources instead of remembering facts themselves.
The three main stages of successful navigation, all of which were disrupted by GPS use.
Recognizing current location, planning a route, and executing the route.
The major flaw in treating AI as an Oracle, according to the authors.
risk of reinforcing pre-existing biases in data and limiting human oversight
The analogy Pfau makes between AI reliance and a concept from Dante’s Inferno.
self-entrapment (or the loss of self-awareness)
The way Bush suggested that researchers should navigate large information databases.
Associative Indexing
The psychological term that describes why people don’t deeply encode facts if they know they can look them up later.
Cognitive Offloading
The term used to describe a person's failure to notice their surroundings while following GPS instructions.
Inattentional blindness
The four AI "roles" identified in the paper that scientists envision for AI in research.
Oracle, Surrogate, Quant, and Arbiter
The existential risk Pfau believes AI poses to future students beyond just academic integrity.
loss of personal identity and intellectual fulfillment