Over-reliance on ChatGPT sparks fears of a non-critical thinking society

Non-profit Organisation, Smartphones-Free Childhood SA (SFC-SA), is urging families to encourage open-ended activities and limit the time their children spend on their phones.

SFC-SA’s Clair Thompson says it is concerning that young people are now outsourcing their thinking and decisions to Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Her remarks follow those of ChatGPT CEO, Sam Altman, who recently revealed that they have been seeing a rise in young people choosing the platform over making decisions without its assistance.

“Even if ChatGPT gives great advice, even if ChatGPT gives way better advice than any human therapist, something about collectively deciding we’re going to live our lives the way AI tells us feels bad and dangerous,” warned Altman.

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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says young people are using too much ChatGPT.

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Thompson says society is going through a big change, and there’s a risk that the current generation of young people won’t know how to think critically, solve problems, or make decisions on their own.

She has encouraged young people to think and challenge each other – mentally.

Thompson has also highlighted the psychological impact excessive use of smartphones causes.

“We are seeing increased rates of anxiety, depression, and even suicidal thoughts, especially for those children who got smartphones younger or before 13, because it’s often linked to factors like early exposure to social media or cyberbullying and obviously disrupted sleep, which obviously then puts pressure and strain onto family relationships as well,” she explains.

“There is a clear connection to reduce self-worth, emotional regulation difficulties, and generally a detachment from reality. So, the developing mind is very vulnerable to the constant digital simulation and it does curate an unrealistic world presentation of reality versus online,” adds Thompson.

SFC-SA has reiterated the organisation’s appeal for parents and guardians to protect their children’s childhood by allowing their brains to develop.

“We are not no-tech, but we are very much advocating for slow or low-tech exposure.”