AI 城市定向

Cognitive atrophy happens any time we lose the ability to engage in a mental process due to inactivity.In a world of Artificial Intelligence,we need to be cognizant of the dangers of cognitive atrophy so that we can continue to engage in curiosity,creativity,and deeper learning.If We Off-Load Our Thinking to AI,What About Cognitive Atrophy?When I lived in Phoenix,I had a solid mental layout of the city.I knew which streets were north and south and which were east and west.I knew that Cactus would turn to Shea for some reason when you went to the east side of town.I accidentally memorized the order of our first twenty presidents because of the sequence of presidential street names downtown.I knew where landmarks were located and I would use phrases like,“Where the old Denny’s was located before they moved it up the street” or “Right by where the mall used to be before they turned it into the middle school.”In other words,I learned how to drive in an era where we had to give verbal directions that often shifted from landmark to cardinal direction to left and right and often included a mix of all of the above.I later navigated additional areas of town via MapQuest,which was a bit like being a pirate with a customized map.I often cringe at just how distracted a driver I was as a college student using a printout map to find my way to a friend’s apartment.When I moved to Salem,I tried to orient myself in the city.While it’s significantly smaller,it is confusing.We don’t run on a tidy grid system like Phoenix.And figuring out if I’m going northbound is a struggle in a space with thick gray clouds all winter.And yet,my biggest challenge has been my dependency on Google Maps.I learned my way around town by following precise directions.While I could have theoretically listened to the command,“Go northbound,” it didn’t really register.I simply drove straight.I turned left.I went straight again.I did so thoughtlessly while I listened to podcasts or music.

Nearly a decade later,I still struggle to orient myself in this city.I don’t know which landmarks are by other landmarks.I never truly know what side of town I’m in.I haven’t developed a mental schema if the city.It’s not for lack of effort,either.I’ve somehow lost some of my ability to think spatially.I used to estimate how long it would take to move from one location to another.I would plan out my route.Now I just click in an address and it does that for me.I now find it a struggle to estimate how long various multi-step trips might take me.I’ve outsourced this process to my device.I’m experiencing a phenomenon called cognitive atrophy.We typically think of cognitive atrophy as a phenomenon related to aging and to cognitive decline through dementia and Alzheimers.On a biological level,cognitive atrophy refers to the gradual decline in cognitive functions due to the degeneration of brain cells or a decrease in brain mass,not unlike a muscles that atrophy.This process can affect various aspects of cognitive ability such as memory,decision making,and problem-solving skills.But I see the same phenomenon when we allow technology to do an entire thinking process for us.This isn’t a new phenomenon.Socrates was concerned about the advent of writing and its impact on memory and knowledge in the “Phaedrus.” Socrates argued that writing would lead to a decline in the mind’s ability to memorize and recall information because people would rely on external written sources instead of internal memory.This reliance on written texts would weaken the mind’s capacity to learn and remember,as individuals would no longer need to exercise their memory to recall information.The truth is,he was right.In a print rich world,modern humanity has lost some of the ability to memorize large chunks of information.

当我住在凤凰城时，我对这个城市有着扎实的认知。我知道哪些街道是北向的，哪些是南向的，哪些是东向的，哪些是西向的。我知道什么原因导致了Cactus Street在城东变成了Shea Street。因为市中心的总统街道名称的顺序，我无意中记住了我们的前二十位总统的顺序。我知道地标位于哪里，我会使用诸如“在他们把Denny's餐厅搬到街对面之前的位置”或“就在他们把商场改成中学之前的位置”的说法。换句话说，我学会了在一个我们必须经常从地标到基本方向再到左右转弯的时代里开车。后来，我通过MapQuest导航了城镇的其他地区，这有点像是一位自带地图的海盗。我常常为自己在大学时期使用打印地图寻找朋友公寓的路线而感到后悔。