Stand to Reason Weekly Podcast How AI and Social Media are Making Us Dumber
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Aug 6, 2025 Tim Barnett, a contributor to Stand to Reason and the creator of Red Pen Logic, joins the discussion to address the troubling effects of AI and social media on our critical thinking skills. He highlights how echo chambers reinforce biases and the risk of cognitive decline from AI dependency. Barnett emphasizes the need for discernment in an age filled with misinformation and the growing necessity for strong thinking skills, particularly among the younger generation.
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Social Media Overloads Thinking
- Social media inundates us with huge volumes of contradictory information daily, overwhelming our ability to assess it critically.
- Access to more information doesn't improve wisdom if we lack skills to evaluate its reliability and truthfulness.
Fake News Spreads Faster
- Fake news spreads significantly faster than true news on social platforms like Twitter.
- People are more likely to share false information, amplifying misinformation rapidly.
Algorithms Create Echo Chambers
- Algorithms filter information to show more of what you engage with, creating echo chambers.
- This confirmation bias reinforces your existing beliefs, isolating you from opposing views.
