FOR THIRD MILLENNIAL THINKING, GENERATIVE AI IS REQUIRED

Purely original thoughts, unrefined by GenAI, no longer meet the demands of our time.

by Marc Prensky

My recent conversations with people in the avant-garde of using Generative AI — all high achievers in a variety of fields — confirms a hypothesis I’ve been mulling around for some time:

“Human thinking” — at its best — is evolving. With Generative AI, humans can now think fundamentally differently, and better, than how we have thought up until now.

I call it “Third Millennial Thinking.” And we all need to do it.

We can still, of course, use all the human thinking modes of the past, including intuitive (“fast”), analytical (“slow”), logical, critical, creative, scientific, and more. But as Einstein famously said, “We cannot solve the problems of tomorrow with the level of thinking that created them.” And now — clever humans that we are — we’ve invented a new way to think — “algorithmically” — by mathematically weaving into our thinking all the recorded knowledge from our past. This is the evolution humanity now needs.

WHAT’S DIFFERENT?

Up until now, thinking basically happened in our heads. Each person’s individual brain put to work all the connections it had — informed by whatever experiences and learning it had accumulated, sometimes using computers and calculators to remember or speed things up — in order to arrive at a single: “I think…” This “miracle of thinking” is performed continually by each of us, every second, during all our lives. Before we refine our ideas by sharing and discussing them with others, internal thinking, inside our heads, has always been the most useful option we‘ve had. It’s why we’ve tried so hard — though education, reading and other experiences — to pack as much as possible in our brains to work with. It’s why we value the thinking of elders, who have many more experiences in their heads gto draw on.

But starting only just recently, thinking is no longer something that we do purely in our brains — as natural, personal, and wonderful as they are. While “only in-our-head” thinking remains useful for many things, it is quickly becoming insufficient for putting an idea out into the world. To think effectively In our new millennium — even before sharing and working with others — one must iterate one’s personal thoughts through AI, refining and enhancing them with all the historical thinking ever recorded in the world. That’s what Generative AI does, and brings us.

“ORIGINAL” THOUGHTS?

Humans will always have original thoughts and value them. But,— no matter how good we are at generating them — “purely original” thinking from our heads alone no longer meet the demands of our time. Generative AI is becoming an essential intermediary in the up-to-date human thought process. This means that for our thinking to be “third millennial thinking” — and perhaps soon to be even worth listening to at all — we now need to take whatever idea we have and use AI to refine it, iterate it, and add to it — before putting it out in the world. AI is so powerful and useful for this purpose that if we want to remain thoughtful humans in a third millennium world this is something none of us can afford NOT to do. While not using AI enhancement is still possible—and thinking “only in our head” is still human in a historical sense — it is no longer enough for our times.

DO YOU DISAGREE?

Many disagree or find this a hard pill to swallow. Some just don’t accept that human thinking can, or needs to, evolve. Others object to using something “outside of us” to think— when AI is really our own human creation. Some see Generative AI as “just math” — when what it really reflects is its training on all the past’s human output. Many are concerned that our new, third millennium thinking with AI is clumsy, requiring typing or talking to a computer often though several programs — a step not comfortable for all, and not even possible for many. Today using Generative AI requires much manual iteration, which can be complicated. It requires going back and forth—I do my first draft myself and then use various forms of AI to refine it; others get AI to do their first draft and then refine from there.

But sooner than most think AI will be “built in” to us in some way, seamlessly integrated into our cognitive processes, acting as an instantaneous filter and enhancer. We will all — or at least those who can — have a built-in virtual advisor, informed by all of recorded history. While there are concerns about AI manipulation, we will almost certainly find ways — though awareness and intentional use — to safeguard authenticity.

The big question for many is whether integrating AI into all human thinking mean that individuals lose the essence of their “personal” thoughts.

The answer to this is already becoming clear. Far from erasing individuality Generative AI—used in the ways we are now learning to— enhances and empowers personal thinking. What I see over and over, in smart, creative people — artists, writers, lawyers, technologists and more — is that they start with an idea they have or like — simple or complex — and though iteration with AI they refine their initial idea into polished creations that they are proud to claim as their own.

WHAT’S CHANGED

Getting anything from a thought in one’s head to something good in the world still requires the age-old iterative process of “idea, draft, refinement” that humans have always used. But in all our previous history only a few could do it well—we called them our“highly creatives” or “artists”—because bringing something out of your head required years of building “technique” in addition to having taste and judgment.

The big change is that now, with generative AI, everyone can bring their imagination out—to a surprisingly high degree. This is possible because what AI now adds is the actual creation of real-world artifacts—with already built-in technique—for people to then iterate further and make their own. Remarkably, it does this at blinding speed — all the while integrating a layer of colective humanity. As we all learn to use Generative AI better and better, this new combination of human thinking and creativity plus AI’s vast augmentation capabilities will greatly accelerate, and,hopefully spread to almost all. It will greatly amplify humanity’s combined intellectual potential because:

Every human has thoughts, and every thought can benefit from AI iteration.

It is AI iteration that elevates the thinking we had previously to the standard of “third millennial thinking.” Rather than constraining thinking, AI interation expands it, raising both the ceiling and floor of our cognition.

GOING FORWARD

While thoughts that come only out of people’s heads may still have value in the future,

Non-AI-enhanced thinking is no longer sufficient for the age in which we live.

It’s important to understand that this is true for any field—and no matter how good a person is or might become as an “only-in-the-brain” thinker. Previously, many people held “original thinking” sacred, harshly penalizing “thought-stealing.”

Today, in order for our thoughts to be fully realized and valuable, WE MUST, through AI, enhance our individual thinking with every thought a previous human has put in the world.

Adding AI always makes human thinking richer and deeper. For better or for worse, “purely original” thinking— unrefined by AI—no longer meet the demands of our time.

THE URGENCY OF THIS SHIFT CANNOT BE OVERSTATED.

Because Generative AI represents a non-biological extension of human evolution, it is essential for preparing future generations. That’s why it is crucial that we get Generative AI in to the hands and minds of our young as early, and as soon, as possible.

Our children simply cannot fully become the imaginative, critical, and creative third millennium thinkers we need without it.

This article was largely inspired by Kyle Shannon, the AI salon, and the December 2024 “AI Festivus” online conference—many thanks!