By Nicole Farid
Earlier this week, ChatGPT stopped working — and for a moment, much of the world seemed to stop with it. (Sound of a clock ticking…)
Suddenly, people were left scrambling to write their LinkedIn articles, reports, and presentations. The panic highlighted something profound: just how dependent we have become on AI — and in particular, on ChatGPT.
But I actually see this moment as a good thing.
A Moment to Reflect
It gave us a chance to reflect on the level of reliance we’ve developed on these tools. It reminded me of the time when mobile phones became our de facto phone books. I grew up memorizing the phone numbers of family and friends. Now? I don’t even know my husband’s number — and barely remember my own — because my phone does it for me.
Losing Our Mental Muscles
I often wonder: if I were ever arrested and had one phone call, how would I even reach my husband if my phone were taken away?
That got me thinking — is ChatGPT doing the same thing to our minds?
Are we outsourcing our memory, creativity, and even the ability to write a basic paragraph?
One of my favourite quotes that resonates heavily with this:
“If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.”
Let’s not lose our skills here for an easy, quick outcome.
The Kids Aren’t Alright
I worry most about the younger generations — especially students in schools and universities. What are we doing to ensure they continue to use their brains, to think critically, and to write independently? After all, the brain is a muscle. If it’s not exercised, what happens over time?
Are we heading toward a future where people are intellectually underdeveloped simply because they’ve stopped needing to think for themselves?
It’s a real concern.
A Global Shift in Intelligence
ChatGPT usage has skyrocketed — growing fourfold in a single year, now reaching around 800 million users weekly. That’s more than the combined populations of the United States, Indonesia, and Nigeria!
Natural Unintelligence: A New Pandemic?
So back to the next generation: how do we put meaningful guardrails around this technology before we experience a pandemic of what I call “Natural Unintelligence”?
Guardrails Around the Globe
This week, I read that China smartly disabled AI tools nationwide during college entrance exams to prevent cheating.
Hong Kong University and the New York City Department of Education have issued clear bans on ChatGPT for coursework and exams.
The UK’s JCQ now requires schools to define AI misuse as academic malpractice, with penalties that can include disqualification for dishonesty.
But Can We Really Enforce It?
That said, it raises an obvious question — how do you really monitor this? Students who use it cleverly and discreetly may never be caught.
Should ChatGPT become a members-only tool with strict ID checks and maybe even an age restriction (21+)?
Or is that too controlling?
Let’s Talk About It
I’m just thinking out loud here, and I’d genuinely love to hear your thoughts.
Let’s open up this conversation — not to criticize technology, but to understand how we can use it responsibly, without letting it take away the very things that make us human: creativity, memory, and original thought.
Final Note
Oh — and yes, I’m proud to say I did not use ChatGPT to write this article.
