Prof G Markets AI Is Making Us All Dumber
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May 12, 2026 
Derek Thompson, journalist and economic analyst, and Cal Newport, computer science professor known for work on attention and deep work. They debate AI weakening sustained attention and writing. They warn AI-created summaries can erode deep reading. They discuss classroom fixes like removing phones and oral exams. They link cognitive decline to broader economic risks.
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AI Threatens Cognitive Fitness Built By Writing
- AI has the capacity to make us dumber by replacing sustained cognitive activities that build our minds.
- Cal Newport argues writing strengthens thinking and outsourcing writing to AI removes that practice and weakens cognitive fitness.
Summaries Won't Replace Deep Reading
- AI summarization and synthesis produce shallow engagement compared with deep reading and writing.
- Derek Thompson notes summarizing many books via AI yields surface-level understanding and erodes long reading stamina.
Phones Shaped The Attention Problem First
- Hyper-optimized short-form phone content trained on reward circuits has already eroded sustained attention.
- Cal Newport links decade-long phone-driven distraction to weakened circuits needed for deep reading and writing.