ChatGPT helped with this curation of content.  Yes, I get the weirdness.  Weirdness... is that a word?  Hey ChatGPT... is weirdness a word?

### 10 Reasons AI Makes Us Smarter

 1. **Time Savings & Boosted Productivity:**
    - *Thomson Reuters Future of Professionals Report 2024*  
      <https://www.thomsonreuters.com/content/dam/ewp-m/documents/thomsonreuters/en/pdf/reports/future-of-professionals-report-2024.pdf>
 2. **Instant Access to Knowledge & Personalized Learning:**
    - *Cognition Today – Is AI making us smarter Or dumber?… Or artificially smarter? (AI symbiotic crisis)*  
      <https://cognitiontoday.com/is-ai-making-us-smarter-or-dumber-or-artificially-smarter/>
 3. **Enhanced Decision-Making & Improved Problem-Solving:**
    - *Vox – Is AI really thinking and reasoning — or just pretending to?*  
      <https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/400531/ai-reasoning-models-openai-deepseek>
 4. **Enhanced Decision-Making:**  
    By analyzing large datasets and spotting trends, AI supports better, more informed decision-making.
 5. **Boosted Productivity:**  
    With mundane tasks offloaded, we can devote our energy to innovation and higher-level thinking.
 6. **Collaboration and Brainstorming Partner:**  
    AI tools can serve as creative collaborators, suggesting ideas that spark our own innovative thinking.
 7. **Improved Problem-Solving:**  
    AI’s ability to break down complex issues into digestible parts can help us see solutions we might have missed.
 8. **Bridging Knowledge Gaps:**  
    When we’re not experts in a particular field, AI can fill in the gaps and provide expert-like insights.
 9. **Continuous Exposure to New Ideas:**  
    The constant influx of AI-curated information keeps our minds engaged and encourages lifelong learning.
10. **Augmentation, Not Replacement:**  
    When used as a tool, AI augments our natural abilities—acting as an extension of our cognitive processes.

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### 10 Reasons AI Makes Us Lazy/Dumber (ok, not quite 10)

1. **Over-Reliance on Automation & Memory Atrophy:**
   - *IT Pro – Is AI making us lazy?*  
     <https://www.itpro.com/technology/artificial-intelligence-ai/359557/is-ai-making-us-lazy>
2. **Superficial Learning & Passive Consumption:**
   - *PubMed – Impact of artificial intelligence on human loss in decision making, laziness and safety in education*  
     <https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37325188/>
3. **Reduced Critical Thinking & Loss of Skills:**
   - *Wired – AI’s Big Gift to Society Is … Pithy Summaries?*  
     <https://www.wired.com/story/plaintext-ai-summaries-make-us-dumber>  Interesting because the audio clip is an AI generated "reading" of the article.
4. **Dependency & Skill Degradation:**
   - *Wikipedia – Is Google Making Us Stupid?*  
     <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_Google_Making_Us_Stupid>
5. **Shorter Attention Spans & Cognitive Offloading:**
   - *The Times – Warning from AI is stark: we have two years to save learning*  
     <https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/warning-from-ai-is-stark-we-have-two-years-to-save-learning-z9r7cj2f2>
6. **Additional Perspectives on Creativity Loss:**
   - *(Again, see Cognition Today for discussions on outsourcing creative processes)*  
     <https://cognitiontoday.com/is-ai-making-us-smarter-or-dumber-or-artificially-smarter/>
7. **Further Discussion on Skill Atrophy:**
   - *(Reiterated via the “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” article)*  
     <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_Google_Making_Us_Stupid>
8. **Passive Consumption & Superficial Engagement:**
   - *(Wired’s article on AI summaries also highlights how reliance on pithy content can erode depth)*  
     <https://www.wired.com/story/plaintext-ai-summaries-make-us-dumber>
