Why Stupidity Is a Threat to Democracy
+ the "Human-to-AI Intelligence Paradox"
Why Stupidity Is a Threat to Democracy
The bottom line is that machine intelligence is improving, while human intelligence is in retreat. Let’s look at the data.
OpenAI’s o3 performs at least on a “Ph.D. level” on STEM benchmarks (STEM: Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). In blind testing, AI-generated writing is evaluated as more persuasive, more compassionate, and often indistinguishable from human writing. Non-expert readers favor AI-generated poetry over the works of legendary poets. We should take such studies with a gigantic grain of salt. Yet, we can’t deny that the measurable performance of AI models is rapidly improving nearly by the week. Simultaneously, human intelligence is declining. What a strange paradox.
Across a range of tests, the average person’s ability to reason and solve novel problems appears to have peaked around 2012 and has been declining ever since (Source: Financial Times). The same applies to mathematical reasoning and reading capabilities. The timing coincides with the shift to more passive mass-consumption of media which took off in the early 10’s.
Most college students today are functionally illiterate. They are unable to read adult novels from cover-to-cover and comprehend what they read. They lack the desire to try, the vocabulary to grasp what they read, and the attention span to finish. Their writing skills are at an 8th-grade level. They can't sit still for 50 minutes without taking bathroom breaks to check their phones. They are chronically absent, indifferent, hopelessly addicted to their smartphones, and frequently vanish during the semester without as much as a note to the school administration.
These observations are not mine but from a viral Substack post “The average college student today” by a tenured philosophy professor writing anonymously under the handle “Hilarius Bookbinder”. I find the claims very believable. Barring the last few years of law school, I was a terribly unengaged student myself, even before the constant distraction of smartphones and free cheating tools right at hand. I can only imagine what it would be like as a student today.
Ideally, taking a college or university degree should be about much more than obtaining credentials. After all, diplomas are just a bunch of symbols on a paper. Learning, on the other hand, is an essential part of being human. If we don’t learn, we don’t grow, and if we don’t grow, we regress.
A lack of learning raises a very concrete challenge for society: people who are uneducated and illiterate are much more susceptible to lies and manipulation as they lack the critical thinking skills, mental discipline, clarity of thought and perspective to continually discern facts from bogus claims and misinformation. What are the consequences of this?
One consequence of replacing focused and disciplined learning with short-form videos and other streams of instant gratification is that a guy like Donald Trump can end up as the president of the United States.
I view Trump’s second term as a celebration of stupidity. We all know by now that Trump luuuvs tariffs and hates illegal immigrants. Tariffs YAAAY! Immigrants BUUHH! This seems to be the level of intellectual sophistication that goes into new policies. The options are either to like with a heart emoji or instantly block. There are only two keys on the piano. Without space for nuance, humbleness, or appreciation of the immense complexity one is stepping into as CEO of the White House.
During Trump's first term, there was bulwark of bureaucracy protecting the American society, other countries, and the global economy. Now, democratic safeguards have been ripped off like red tape and the protectors of the institutional realm have been replaced with Trump yes-men.
What happens next is about as unpredictable as what the next video will be on your feed. This is what the American people opted for - with open eyes and under a due electoral process. A President who was strongly favored by giggling teenagers scrolling TikTok while in their tracksuits eating Doritos.
Stupidity is a threat to democracy. If voters and politicians alike are functionally illiterate, unable to concentrate, and lack common sense and reasoning skills, there cannot be a fair and inclusive public conversation which is what a democracy essentially is.
The Human-to-AI Intelligence Paradox
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