Rules and Guidelines
Want to participate in the discussions? Please read our Community Rules and Guidelines. Need some help? Visit Support and Answers.

  • Replies 5 replies
  • Subscribers 21 subscribers
  • Views 511 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
You may also be interested in

Are We Relying Too Much on AI and Losing Our Own Thinking?

Satyasri Akula

As we move deeper into the AI age, I’ve been reflecting on how much we rely on these systems in our daily work and decision-making.

AI is incredibly powerful , it helps us analyze faster, automate tasks, and even generate ideas. But here’s the question I keep coming back to:

Are we starting to rely on AI so much that we’re slowly sidelining our own thinking, instincts, and engineering judgment?

In engineering especially, critical thinking, intuition built from experience, and problem-solving ability have always been our core strengths. If AI begins to take over too much of that process, are we at risk of weakening those skills over time?

I am not against AI. Far from it. I see it as a tool, a powerful assistant. But I feel the key is balance.
Using AI to enhance our thinking, not replace it.

Maybe the real challenge isn’t adopting AI, it’s learning how to use it without losing what makes us engineers in the first place.

Curious to hear others’ thoughts:

  • Where do you draw the line between assistance and over-reliance?
  • Have you noticed changes in how you approach problem-solving since using AI tools?

Let’s discuss.

  • It's not just AI. Those that grew up using pocket calculators are often nothing like as adept at "having a feel for the correct answer" as previous generations, I think.

      - Andy.

  • I don't think there's any issue with using the likes of ChatGPT, Grok, Claude, Gemini, etc to help with learning, but the problem lies with what people perceive AI chat models are capable of.

    The Large Language Models are capable of producing very eloquent descriptions of things, can break down very complex documents into easy to understand summaries, convert plain writing into infographics and assist people that don't have great writing skills to communicate effectively.

    However, what they're not good at is giving the correct answer. They're infinitely better than your average pub quiz team, but I certainly wouldn't trust them with answering anything that's necessary for safety and wellbeing.

  • I'm not, but then, as a boomer ('55), we'd got beyond chalk on slate, learnt the 'times tables', witnessed the end of mechanical calculators and shop cash machines, decimalisation and metrication, log table, slide rules, BOOKS, pencils, calculators, punch cards, computers, email, internet, etc.

    We keep having accidents and making the same 'mistakes'. AI will provide some progress, as, when all is said and done, far more will have been said than done. [see Railway Mania ..] 

  • in reply to Philip Oakley
    Philip Oakley said:
    I'm not,

    As in, I'm not using AI, except as far as google forces it on me when I do a web search Grimacing

  • I tend to think of AI as a tool.  Great in the hands of a person who knows what they are doing but potentially dangerous in the same regards as a little knowledge can be dangerous.  This is akin to the early days of sat navs sending people off bridges or into the sea/river.  Yes we all remember the stories.  However as satnav's and things like Google maps(Other navigation software brands are available) evolve and become better then we will start to rely on them more and lose those skills ourselves.

    As a casing point.

    When you leave work today, turn on your satnav and select your home and follow the route given to you.  The navigational aides now selects your route for quickest time and factors in road works, traffic/accidents and will even re-route you mid way as it gets updated.  Thus ggogle maps will send you route information but it will also collect from you if allowed randomised location data so it is becoming better at predicting traffic bottlenecks on your route home lets say than you are even though you have been doing that commute for years.  As an example you are on the M1 at 6pm on a weekday and you are driving at 60 to 70mph then suddenly you slow down to 30 or 40 mph for a few mins then this will feed back to Google maps.  This by itself does nothing but when maybe 500 other phones around you relay the same info to GoogleMaps as randomised location data their algorithum picks up on that as something happening and then could issue the warning or ask you for a change of route as this is not the norm for that road at that time of day.  

    Long term this could be expanded upon and there could be a collaboration with GoogleMaps and traffic monitor/sensor/camera to help add extra information.  As an example take the A9 in Scotland, weather can play a significant part in journey times especially in winter.  Both parties (traffic management and Google) could exchange information to benefit the road users.  Like reports of Snow or Fog or High winds.  This could also interact with The Trunk Road Gritter Tracker map displaying the current location of gritters and a trail showing where gritters have previously passed along the trunk routes across Scotland

    As a side note I really like some of the names for gritters in Scotland like

    Gritney Spears

    Double Snow 7

    Bear Chills

    Taylor Drift

Community Rules & Guidelines