We’re getting dumber, and technology is contributing to that.
Socrates was right. When in the 5th century BCE, in Phaedrus, he warned about the invention of writing, arguing that it would destroy human memory, he was laughed at as a technophobe.
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Today, 2500 years later, looking at my own brain collaborating with ChatGPT, I must admit that the ancient philosopher knew what he was talking about.
Our civilization is built on cognitive prosthetics. Writing replaced oral memory. Calculators took over counting. GPS has relieved us of the need to navigate. Each of these technologies is a Faustian bargain: we gain power, losing proficiency.
