Generative AI: A Critical Perspective

I was recently taking a course on Tilings and Computation at the University of Waterloo. On the course website, I came across a discussion about the use of Generative AI in academia, particularly in the context of graduate students. The professor expressed a critical perspective on the use of such technologies, which I found quite thought-provoking. I am just going to quote the professor’s words directly:

“Basically, I’m opposed to using Generative AI. I don’t trust it to work reliably. When it’s wrong, it’s often wrong in subtle ways that are easy to miss, precisely because it’s tuned for plausibility over correctness. More fundamentally, even if it worked flawlessly, you shouldn’t use it. Generative AI certainly does nothing to make you smarter, and there’s some evidence that it may even make you dumber (by stunting your critical thinking skills). If you weren’t interested in becoming smarter, then why did you come to grad school?”