So what is stopping you from thinking and using the machines as tools? To me it looks like AI is solving the “low level/grunt work” problems and leaves us the important stuff such as steering it, making products using the discoveries, find new problems to solve/discover and so on…
I use coding as an example, I am glad I can ask AI agents to do all the boilerplate coding so that I can focus on building actual products rather than spending a month to get an API just right. It’s not like I am no longer thinking about the code or the end result. I do but only where it actually matters. Just punishing myself to not use AI would be like writing code with pen and paper. Some people enjoy it but that’s just a personal exercise not an industrial tool. I definitely enjoyed coding without IntelliSense and I think it made me a better programmer but definitely it’s not something I would recommend people to do on their day to day job.
The problem is this: “Astra write me a masters thesis applying new techniques programming language theory to Rust” is not using a tool, it’s hiring someone to do the work and thinking for you.
I have difficulty figuring out how to solve this issue.
You could have done that before AI as well, albeit with a little bit more effort. Plagiarism has been quite common.
That being said, if whatever Astra is spitting is really innovative, the prompt author understands it, proof checks it and can support it in front of a live evaluator I think it’s good enough for me. In practice I think that prompt would be just one of many, perhaps also some “old school” evaluation and improvement before the thesis is done. Again, I see the AI as a tool.
You could ask Astra to generate you an e-commerce website with one prompt. Can you show it to someone and claim it as your project? Can you actually use that in production?
I use coding as an example, I am glad I can ask AI agents to do all the boilerplate coding so that I can focus on building actual products rather than spending a month to get an API just right. It’s not like I am no longer thinking about the code or the end result. I do but only where it actually matters. Just punishing myself to not use AI would be like writing code with pen and paper. Some people enjoy it but that’s just a personal exercise not an industrial tool. I definitely enjoyed coding without IntelliSense and I think it made me a better programmer but definitely it’s not something I would recommend people to do on their day to day job.