While I share Rebecca Spiess’s concerns about artificial intelligence, I want to say that tools can be used with discretion to great benefit (“AI is already changing your brain. Here’s what to look out for,” Opinion, Oct. 23).
When Google search appeared, we worried that it would cause our creative muscles to atrophy. But it helped me do my research. GPS has taken away the ability to navigate on our own, but it helps those of us who are directionally challenged.
An AI application, Microsoft Copilot, helped me to organize a book that I had written. I was stymied by the editing process. I paid for editors to help, but none had the patience or ability to answer my questions line-by-line. Some also added their subjective judgments, distorting my narrative. Copilot answered my very specific questions about ordering paragraphs, linking sections, and so forth. No other professional editor was needed.
Still, it is concerning that AI could replace thought and effort among young people if they do not use it carefully.
Rivkah Lapidus
Somerville