Despite the emphatic glorification of the “information society,” confirmed by speculative enthusiasm for the advent of Artificial Intelligence, the last few decades of exposure of new generations to digital media have not led to an extension, but rather a reduction in human intelligence, as shown by recent findings of trends in Intellectual Quotient in some sections of society where research has been conducted.
Trends in peoples’ Intelligence Quotient (IQ) are traced to the so-called Flynn effect, according to which the value of the population’s average IQ increases over years and generations, with an average growth of about 3 points per decade. This was the case until the beginning of the new millennium, when this trend was reversed in some nations: especially in developed countries, lower average IQ values were found than in previous decades.
This trend was also confirmed by the PIAAC (Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies), a program designed by the OECD, which conducted a survey in Italy of about 12,000 people. Our country has been found to be among the hardest hit by functional illiteracy, that is, the inability to understand, evaluate and use available information.
Most studies show that excessive exposure of young people to screens, particularly smartphones and social media with their algorithms, has negative impacts on their cognitive development.
It is no coincidence that cell phones and Social are banned in schools and families not only in childhood but now also in preadolescence. Significantly, the owners of large global platforms, from Meta to Google and Microsoft prevent their children from using them until an appropriate age.
In the case of Social Media, we are faced with a clear case of the use of AI systems that do not extend, but reduce human intelligence.
Various algorithms and interfaces expose Social users to factors of constant distraction, disruption of concentration and reflection, narrowing of the spectrum of information and opinions, as well as dispensing fake news. Semantic funnels are thus used, as well as continuous scrolling, ever-shorter video formats, semantic recommendations, contextual advertisements, and the dissemination of fake and sensationalist information, for the sole purpose of increasing the monetization of time spent and the number of clicks in the platforms.
Artificial Intelligence carries even greater risks, particularly related to possible atrophy of intellectual faculties. For example, students who already use ChatGPT to avoid filling out essays or summaries and to automatically translate languages are at risk of losing the ability to write and learn foreign languages. If we do not need a faculty, we tend to lose it. Pre-homeric oral narratives lasted for days and were told from memory; with the advent of the alphabet, this mnestic faculty was lost, fortunately, in this case, giving way to other mental faculties.
The mass dissemination of systems such as ChatGPT risks turning into a process of mental atrophy even more severe than Social Media, because the activities of writing, synthesizing, and translating are replaced and avoided: activities that foster a growth of intellectual faculties.
To avert these risks entirely or at least in part, the educational community must regain control of the digital sphere, becoming the cultural mediator between networked applications and the younger generation.
This can be done first and foremost at school, in addition to using traditional teaching activities, through a Content Curation process that educates to recognize correct sources, select useful content, and organize access to the web.
Only careful management of the advent of AI will be able to reduce risks and enhance resources to lead us to the dimension of Homo Extensus.
Italiano