How AI Changes The Way We Find And Consume Information

As a result of the rapid spread of tools related to so-called artificial intelligence, or AI, we are witnessing a significant change in the way we access information.

As has already happened with other technological innovations, this phenomenon is likely to make us mentally “lazier”.

Artificial intelligence-which, on closer inspection, is not really intelligence in the traditional sense of the term-allows us to skip many once-indispensable processes.

While this phenomenon gives us more time available for other activities, it also disabuses us of others.

Natural intelligence allows us to develop autonomous thinking, whereas what we witness with AI is more like a mechanism that, based on preordained data, delivers results.

It could be compared to a sophisticated telephone book that has the ability to present different perspectives on the information with which it has been fed.

Evolution of information search

• Before Google: search engines were essentially directories, ordered directories.
• With Google: users were able to search for information more efficiently, saving time.
• With AI: there is a move closer to the user’s intentions and expectations.

Distinctive features of AI compared to traditional search engines

• If responses are not tied to user profiling, the risk of bias typical of social media could be reduced.
• However, even in the absence of profiling, responses are influenced by the model’s algorithm, the data with which the AI was trained (which may have been pre-filtered), and additional filters placed beforehand between the generated response and the one displayed by the user for whatever reason (ethical, political, commercial, etc.)

Impact on society

The spread of AI could lead to:

• A decrease in synthesis ability, as we will be less accustomed to writing summaries and taking notes.
• A greater reliance on automated summaries.
• A possible influence on public opinion, especially when content is reproduced on a large scale.

Differences in the indexing process

• Google: builds and periodically updates its index, offering results based on predetermined criteria.
• AI: creates a real-time priority index for each query, although it tends to consolidate its knowledge instead of challenging it.

Risks and considerations

• AI creativity is expressed more in form than in substance.
• There is a risk of an “instupidization” of human beings because:
  • The creation of original synthetic content will be reduced.
  • Users will be influenced by AI’s pre-packaged responses.
  • The habit of looking for differences and asking critical questions will be lost.

The change in the way information is accessed through AI, although it brings benefits in terms of efficiency and immediacy, is likely to reduce our capacity for critical thinking and personal synthesis.

AI’s “pre-packaged” answers, however valid, may limit our natural tendency to ask questions and seek alternative perspectives.