Why Being Better Than AI Is Your Most Important Skill

The AI Red Flags I See in Student Work

As a professor, I've seen a lot over the past two years. I have read countless essays, papers, and discussion posts and had the distinct feeling that a machine wrote them. I've encountered research papers that cite books that don't even exist. In one AI-generated biography of me, I was apparently the President of the Alabama League of Women Voters, which is entirely false. These are the clear and present downsides of generative AI in an academic setting.

A Word of Caution Not Condemnation

Let me be clear: I don't think you're a bad person or a bad student for using ChatGPT. If I had access to this technology as a 19-year-old back in 2003, I can't honestly say I would have never used it to finish an assignment. It would have freed up more time for Napster and AOL Instant Messenger. So, I don't think you're a bad student, but I am worried for you.

This technology is undoubtedly powerful and has many useful applications, even within a university. There's evidence it can aid in some aspects of learning. However, there is also compelling evidence that it can significantly harm learning and even lead to a decline in human ability. It's also becoming more likely that this technology is not as revolutionary as its biggest proponents claim.

What Skills Will Truly Matter in Your Career

You absolutely need to be literate in this technology. But I urge you to ask yourself some critical questions about its use: What am I gaining when I use ChatGPT? More importantly, what am I losing? When I graduate, how common will basic AI literacy be? Now, contrast that with how common the ability to write clearly, read deeply, communicate effectively, think critically, and make genuine human connections will be. What skills will set you apart in your career? What should you invest in beyond the ability to write a good prompt for a Large Language Model?

A colleague of mine summarized it perfectly: “When all you can do is tell AI to write something for you, all you are doing is demonstrating that you are replaceable by AI. You need to be better than AI.”

You Can Be Better Than AI Heres How

The good news is that being better than AI probably isn't as hard as it sounds. Its capabilities are often overestimated. For a simple test, ask ChatGPT how many “b’s” are in the word “blueberry.” Ask Microsoft Co-pilot for a list of U.S. states that contain the letter “R.” The answers might surprise you (unless they've been patched). A better test is to give the AI a text you know intimately and ask it detailed questions. How often is it right? When it's wrong, does it admit its mistake, or does it confidently fabricate an answer? Does it ever just say, "I don’t know?"

Build Your Cognitive Fitness Leave the Forklifts Behind

You need to be better than AI. You can be better than AI. But to achieve that, you have to lock in and do the work. You need to write on your own to learn how to think on your own. I'll borrow the words of author Ted Chiang, who said, “Writing is…strength training for the brain. Using ChatGPT to write your essays is like bringing a forklift into the weight room; you are never going to improve your cognitive fitness that way.”

Focus on improving your cognitive fitness. Write for yourself. Better yet, ask another human being to help you improve. It's time to leave the forklifts out of the weight room and the robots out of your writing process.