Your Independent Journal from the Heartland
This is a verse by David McCord, but Gemini (Google’s AI system) initially identified it as a limerick and a second request a day later gave the correct answer.
LLM, Large Language Model, which is a type of artificial intelligence that processes and generates human-like text, is a wonderful thing. It’s fast, easy to use, and at least sounds like it knows what it’s talking about. The trouble is, it’s not always accurate and can’t really replace a human brain. In fact, there are studies, good ones, that show the excessive use of AIs can make the brain work less efficiently than when it’s left to do its own work.
It seemed like a good idea at the time, mostly 2009. The Common Core State Standards was a simple idea: one set of challenging academic expectations for all students in the United States that would apply everywhere. It wasn’t a law, but more a set of examples of what every student should know and at what level. But Education Week (9/0/15) wrote, “Launched officially in 2009, the drive for common learning goals in English/language arts and mathematics produced an extraordinary response: All but four states embraced the standards in a huge wave of adoptions in 2010 and 2011. But there was also an extraordinary backlash: By 2015, several states reversed their adoptions of the standards, and nearly half backed out of their initial promises to use tests designed to measure mastery of them.”
Since Common Core didn’t require handwriting, and keyboarding (typing) is easier to learn than cursive, some states dispensed with with printing and cursive in favor of typing. It was easier to to teach and easier to read.
But a series of studies showed that there are advantages to handwriting that aren’t shared with the keyboard. One of the best examples was “The Neuroscience Behind Writing: Handwriting vs. Typing—Who Wins the Battle?” [https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11943480/]. The long, well researched studies concludes, “The comparison between handwriting and typing reveals important differences in their neural and cognitive impacts. Handwriting activates a broader network of brain regions involved in motor, sensory, and cognitive processing, contributing to deeper learning, enhanced memory retention, and more effective engagement with written material. Typing, while more efficient and automated, engages fewer neural circuits, resulting in more passive cognitive engagement.”
An incredibly dense study from MIT [https://arxiv.org/pdf/2506.08872v1] seems to show that a college essay done without the benefit of AI seems to show better retention than a similar assignment written with help from AI. Increasingly, college professors are returning to hand written essays.
The changes in brain function may alter the college essay writing, but not more serious considerations. The October 2025 issue of The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology carried a report, “Endoscopist deskilling risk after exposure to artificial intelligence in colonoscopy: a multicentre, observational study.”
A Medscape summary of this study began, “Routine use of artificial intelligence (AI) may lead to a loss of skills among clinicians who perform colonoscopies, thereby affecting patient outcomes, a large observational study suggested.” A colonoscopy is a medical procedure that allows a physician to examine the lining of the large intestine. It is a screening test for colorectal cancer and other conditions. The study was conducted among physicians who had conducted thousands of examinations, and compared the accuracy of their diagnosis with and without the use of AI.
Between Sept 8, 2021, and March 9, 2022, 1,443 patients underwent non-AI assisted colonoscopy before (795) and after (648) the introduction of AI. The ADR (adenoma detection rate) dropped by 6%. The conclusion was, “Continuous exposure to AI might reduce the ADR of standard non-AI assisted colonoscopy, suggesting a negative effect on endoscopist behavior.”
Sam Uretsky is a writer and pharmacist living in Louisville, Ky. Email sdu01@outlook.com.
