Brain Rot chatGPT? Or The Digital Vampire Club and the Erosion of Authentic Thought

In an age where the term "entrepreneur" is increasingly sullied by a parade of self-proclaimed visionaries, one can't help but feel a rising tide of intellectual and ethical decay. Particularly since 2020, we've witnessed the proliferation of what can only be described as "energy vampires" and perhaps more outrageous "tech and knowledge vampires." This digital coven, of which the AI industry is an undeniable, yet scandalously unpaid, member, seems more concerned with personal aggrandisement than genuine enterprise.

These "faux founders" and "false leaders" appear to exist in a perpetual state of demanding adulation, their egos requiring constant polishing while the very notion of "sales" is relegated to a mere abstraction – "the lead gen." Authenticity, a virtue once prized, is now a rare commodity in a world saturated with the counterfeit. They epitomise a culture of "beg, steal, borrow, and grift," far removed from the honest pursuit of revenue and value creation. Many look up to these phoneys thanks to their partners in crime the influencers and digital content crew assisted by the algorithms and LLM worms that fill our feed and rot our ability to think freely. Many therefore cannot differentiate making wrong the new right. For those of us still awake, still attuned to the resonance of integrity and reality, this charade is not just tiresome; it's a deeply concerning symptom of a broader societal malaise.

And speaking of malaise, gosh, Sam Altman drops capitals and now I am starting sentences with 'and' my English Lit teacher would role in her grave; a recent study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has cast a chilling light on another facet of this digital devolution and degenerative AI: the worrying impact of large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT on our cognitive faculties. Titled "Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant," this four-month controlled experiment offers a sobering look at how our reliance on AI might be quietly eroding the very bedrock of original thought.

The MIT study, involving 54 students divided into ChatGPT, Google-AI, and Brain-only groups, asked participants to write essays on SAT prompts. The findings are nothing short of alarming, revealing patterns that should give pause to anyone embracing AI as their panacea for productivity:

1. The Flattening of Thought: Participants who used ChatGPT produced essays that were "shockingly similar." The same phrases, the same logic, the same ideas. The AI didn't just assist; it shaped and ultimately homogenized their thinking, leading to a dreary uniformity of expression.

2. The Human-AI Divide in Evaluation: While AI scoring models "loved" these bland, AI-generated essays, human graders consistently penalized them for a glaring lack of originality and structure. This exposes a widening chasm: what looks good to a bot often sounds shallow and uninspired to a human. The algorithms are rewarding mediocrity.

3. The Brain on Idle: Perhaps the most disquieting revelation comes from the EEG data, which showed a staggering up to 55% lower neural activity in LLM users compared to those who wrote independently. Brain-only participants exhibited richer connectivity in the alpha, theta, and delta bands – the crucial zones for focus and memory. In essence, our brains are literally stopping working as hard. This is the very definition of "brain rot."

4. The Cognitive Crutch: The study also highlighted the difficulty of disengaging from AI reliance. In a subsequent session, students who switched from ChatGPT back to writing solo underperformed significantly. Their recall diminished, their quotations became sparse, and their brain activity remained sluggish. Once the mental crutch is adopted, the natural ability to walk unaided atrophies.

5. Strategic Use, Not Blind Reliance: There is, however, a glimmer of hope. The study found that those who first engaged in original thought before utilizing AI for support retained better cognitive patterns and used the tool more purposefully. This suggests that the timing of AI integration is paramount; early overreliance leads to cognitive debt.

6. It's Not "AI Bad," It's "Timing Matters": The conclusion is not a blanket condemnation of AI but a crucial distinction regarding its application. Use LLMs after you've invested in original thinking. Do not allow them to hijack your initial drafts, compromise your memory, or dull your neural pathways. AI should serve as support, never as a substitute for genuine intellectual effort.

While the sampling of just 54 participants might be a small sample, the pattern is unequivocally clear and something we are all realising. We have entered an era where how we choose to engage with artificial intelligence will directly determine the trajectory of our mental development – or, indeed, its imminent deterioration. These tech bros are not trying to help us but to help themselves and the circle of self interest I call The Crooked Church of Silicon Valley. We outsiders do not count, sub humans in their eyes.

The rise of this "digital vampire club" in entrepreneurship, coupled with the "brain rot" revealed by MIT's study, paints a grim picture of a future where true innovation and authentic thought are replaced by algorithmic mimicry and self-serving grift. For the discerning gentleman, the path forward is clear: cultivate originality, demand authenticity, and wield technology with wisdom, not surrender. Our minds, and indeed the future of genuine enterprise, depend on it. Full study can be found here

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