Multiplying By Zero

Reflecting on how AI can enhance our workflow in a way that makes us smarter, not dumber, I recall a time when I was in high school, tutoring a middle school student. At that point, they were allowed to use a calculator in class, for homework, and in exams, because the subject matter had moved on from simple arithmetic to more abstract concepts, like solving linear and quadratic equations.

At some point during an exercise, we were able to make some simplifications and were left with something like 12563 * 0 . I watched in amazement (horror?) as the student dutifully typed in: 1 2 5 6 3 * 0 = into their calculator and wrote down the answer, 0. Just to confirm I wasn't imagining this, I asked them, "Hey, quick question, so, what's 452 times zero?" And again, they looked at me and went right to their calculator.

I want AI to do great things for me and for humanity, but for it to reach that level, we must be constantly vigilant: Where are we using AI for the equivalent of "what's 1243 * 53362," and where are we using it to multiply by zero on our behalf? When AI frees us of drudgery, it's fantastic. When it robs us of our intuition about how things work (like the fact that anything times zero is zero, no calculator required), we become less effective because we aren't thinking at a high enough level anymore.