Human learning in the age of AI

LLMs are the most powerful database technology humans ever had access to, I was of the impression that now with AI especially agentic search products we don't need to memorize anything.

As AI enables us to have ever more information faster at our fingertips one could argue that this is the point at which we stop learning.

I'd like to argue for the exact opposite, namely that to be able to be profit from AI advancements you have to be knowledgeable. Of course, a programmer nowadays doesn't need to memorize all APIs of a library, but they need to know the concepts and principles of computer science and software engineering. AI shifts the knowledge requirements from memorization to understanding, it forces us to go deeper and to be more creative.

creativity is the biggest asset in the age of AI

BUT to be creative you need to have knowledge ... take an ornithologist, an geologist and an historian on a hike through nature, everyone will see the world with different eyes, notice other details, will be able to discover something else!

Same goes for different people trying to solve problems with AI, their prior knowledge will determine the quality of their prompts and results.

Creativity requires knowledge because of how the human brain learns. When we truly grasp something, our brains are physically "rewired" -- connections and synapses are formed.

These information highways open up previously untapped routes of problem solving and perspectives, every artist needs to have some inspiration (knowledge) to be creative.

Human knowledge is not just simple data entry into a database, when our knowledge changes the underlying database schema adapts. learning improves our software and hardware at the same time.

I really want to emphasize here that learned knowledge physically exists (synapses are hardware) and that a new skill is not just a new row in an Excel sheet. New knowledge creates a completely new table in the excel sheet that enables new possibilities for storing other skills. So on one hand, knowledge/data is software, but when learning we don't just improve our software, we simultaneously also improve the hardware on which the software runs. This is why I think learning is still alive and has the potential to provide more upside and instant gratification than ever!

So YES AI can answer all questions and make scientific discoveries, but NOT even AGI will will be able to fulfill your needs without a great prompt, right tools and sufficient data. Meaning human learning is still alive and has the potential to provide more upside and instant gratification than ever!

Being a great learner in the age of context window overflow / information abundance means relentlessly training your discipline to focus, as concentration is becoming the greatest good. You have to curate an environment with mininal distractions to make deep long lasting neural connections.

More on conserving and cultivating focus and learning in upcoming thoughts.

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the human brain is meant for creativity not for remembering, but creativity requires knowledge.