There you are, a first-year student about to start university life. But why bother? After all, you can ask ChatGPT anything these days. You can use AI to do your assignments, create software programs or even write your thesis for you. If you did a literature study in the olden days, you had to go to the library and look up articles in scientific journals that you then had to copy on the spot. Then came Web of Science, which gave you access to vast amounts of literature while sitting at your desk. But you still had to read, summarize and categorize everything yourself. Now all you need is a carefully chosen prompt and you don’t even have to do those tasks. You don’t have to be able to write proper English anymore either.
So what’s the point of your education? AI is going to take over your job anyway, according to the media. You can only be guaranteed a job in future if you work with your hands, for example as a roofer, or dredging, massaging or changing nappies.
AI makes you cognitively lazy, so train your own brain while at university, not an AI
No one will want copywriters, programmers, consultants or content creators. Can you look forward to a career at all? Perhaps you should switch to a course for plumbers.
Don’t fall for this narrative. There are still good reasons for doing a degree because a university education is about far more than the coursework. The network you build is invaluable and can’t be simulated. AI knows a lot but it doesn’t know what knowledge is appropriate for which situation. Wageningen students learn this: they are practical, acquire skills, find out about their domain. They are also nice people with broad interests — precisely what we will need in the future.
What is more, AI consumes ridiculous amounts of energy so your behaviour is automatically climate-aware if you decide not to use it. But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. There’s nothing wrong with using AI appropriately, because that leaves you more time for creativity. AI learns by rehashing stuff but new discoveries still only come from humans. AI makes you cognitively lazy, so make sure that it’s your own brain that you train at university, not an AI. And don’t forget to pick your teachers’ brains too, as they studied the old-fashioned way.
Finally, AI is known for occasionally hallucinating, but hallucinating without AI is much more fun. And you can always play bullshit bingo with ChatGPT results.
Sjoukje Osinga (57) is an assistant professor of Information Technology. She sings alto in the Wageningen chamber choir Musica Vocale, has three sons who are students and enjoys birdwatching with her husband in the Binnenveldse Hooilanden.
