Humanity Working · 2026-08-18 · 36 min
Matt joins Paul for the second episode in the “Seven Big Questions About AI” series to explore a provocative question: is AI actually making us dumber? They unpack concerns that AI may be changing how people learn, remember, focus, and think, including stories from people who find they can complete work with AI but struggle to recall or explain what they actually did. Paul also introduces the Flynn Effect and its reversal, exploring evidence that measures of human intelligence have declined across multiple countries and what broader societal and technological changes might have contributed. The conversation examines the difference between getting things done and actually learning , and how AI can decouple the two by allowing people to accomplish tasks without developing the knowledge and skills that traditionally came from doing them. They also explore the “utility argument” behind technologies like calculators and smartphones, where outsourcing certain mental tasks can free us to focus on more complex ones, and why AI’s ability to shortcut almost everything could be fundamentally different.
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