Everybody’s Weirded Out by AI—Except the People Who Foist It on Us

AI makes the dumbest seem smarter, the smartest seem dumber, while dragging the entire human average down in the process.

On Monday, over 200 researchers and economists, including 15 Nobel laureates, released a joint statement pleading with government and industry to address the economic and social impacts of artificial intelligence, based on the belief that AI will result in the displacement of vast stretches of the workforce. Industry itself is plowing ahead with vast investments in AI infrastructure; Meta just announced a massive expansion of a data center being built in Louisiana, raising the cost to $50 billion. However, this seems a tad optimistic, given it represents a technology that most people don’t want and no one asked for, while making our entire society collectively dumber.

One of my favorite dystopian short stories is “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut. Set it 2081, the story describes a government that enforces absolute equality by forcing citizens with above-average strength, intelligence, or beauty to wear debilitating handicaps. This world where the government handicaps the gifted leads to societal stagnation, where agents of the government resort to drastic measures to enforce their brand of “equality.”

Today, we are seeing a similar scenario play out, but with AI. Instead of the government handicapping the most intelligent people to make them seem less intelligent, society is becoming ever more dominated by a tool that makes less intelligent people appear smarter, while still making society dumber overall. AI represents a different mechanism and means, but it achieves the same basic societal effect: intellectual and artistic stagnation and decay.

The most obvious example of how AI destroys the human ability to learn and think critically is its ubiquitous use in high schools and colleges. A study released in October 2025 found that 84 percent of high school students use AI to brainstorm ideas, edit or revise essays, and/or conduct research and find sources. Another 69 percent use ChatGPT to help with school assignments and homework.

At the college level, the picture is no better: 85 percent use it for the basics of research and brainstorming. Another 57 percent of college students use AI at least weekly for coursework, and 46 percent say it is “extremely important” to use it in order to understand complex material, save time, and get better grades. Male students are more likely to use it than female students: What normal 19 year old wouldn’t rather be playing beer pong than reading Immanuel Kant?

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