Here we go again...
Books will made you retarded, you won't need your memory anymore...
@binkle
Huh?
I don't think you got my point at all. Our brains are plastic in order to use all tools more effectively. As soon, as we can free some space, it will be used by a different function.
Do we have a shit memory? Yeah. But our logic, multi tasking and planning should be better now.
It's the difference between a worker and a manager. Our brains need to learn how to manage tools, but as a result, one manager will ALWAYS get more work done, then one worker.
@LukeAlmighty @trogdor @binkle @vic yeah, a man would not have enough brain to use a calculator, he'd just flail helplessly
You give up an expanded capacity for memory after learning to effectively utilize the written word. You give up craftsmanship after you learn to use industrial processes to produce a product. You give up some capacity for mathematical reasoning after learning to effectively utilize computer programs to do it for you. Every "advancement" has a cost - thus "no free lunch". Will the cost of AI be outweighed by the benefits? Possibly. I don't think anyone knows yet.
I'm not even making an anti-AI stance necessarily I'm just saying we shouldn't ignore that there are costs and they should be weighed carefully
@binkle
Sure, there are absolutely technologies, that caused much more harm then good. And it is hard to see these harms, since they do come decades later.
My favorite example is birth control. Man, did that little pill bring a little apocalipse on it's own. 
@binkle
But these are not UI advancements. These are monetization advancements.
We know how to design a UI that informs users about their options and how to better use the device. But, the Android/Apple UI is specifically designed to send you to the store and nowhere else.
They used to call this "outcome-based education."
Why does a kid need to learn math if he can just use a calculator?
Well, it turns out that learning to do math--and not just using a calculator--has a massive, positive impact on cognitive ability and synthesizing new ideas.
Otherwise the kid can just use the calculator, sure, but then without it he's mentally worthless and uncreative, nothing more than a thin client for the machine. The proverbial useless eater.