Ep. 11: Don't Use AI Like This–Over-Reliance, Bad Data, & Lazy Prompts

Episode notes

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Is AI Dumbing Us Down? How NOT To Use AI, and What to Do Instead

A recent MIT study suggests ChatGPT dulls our critical thinking skills over time. Simultaneously, practically every industry today faces pressure to adopt AI tools in order to remain competitive. But that doesn’t mean businesses can’t navigate AI use with care.

Before you get ready to sacrifice your intelligence to Big Brother, the latest episode of Accelerated Velocity dives into the harms of AI misuse and overuse in business, and what to do instead.

The harms of AI misuse and overuse

Relying too heavily on AI threatens:

- The quality of your marketing and sales campaigns

- The ability to maintain a creative, adaptable mindset in a highly competitive market

- Critical business decisions

How NOT to use AI

- Don’t ask LLMs for strategic advice on fast-changing benchmarks

- Don’t write lazy prompts. Better prompting = better information from an LLM.

- Don’t rely on AI’s advice without thoroughly checking its sources and thought process.

- Don’t give AI vague data. Specificity will help you achieve more accurate data analysis from tools like ChatGPT’s Deep Research.

Chapters

01:01 – The MIT Study: AI and Critical Thinking

03:14 – Why Generic AI Content Fails

05:22 – Smart AI Use Starts Narrow

08:59 – Prompting Mistakes to Avoid

13:09 – Call for Guest Experts

Sources

“ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, According to a New MIT Study” by Andrew R. Chow for Time