AI will do more harm than good
By: Vincent L. Hall
Texas Metro News
https://texasmetronews.com
“Isaac said he kissed you beneath the apple tree. When Benji held your hand, he felt electricity. When Alexander called you, he said he rang your chime. Christopher discovered, you’re way ahead of your time.”
- The Love You Save
Jackson Five, May 13, 1970
The month of May has always been a memorable month for me. Between graduations, Memorial Day, Cinco de Mayo (Yeah, I was celebrating it before White folks ordained it), and Malcolm X’s birthday, I have always had a reason to hold the month in my memory bank, or as Michael Jackson would say, “Remember the Time!”
But this year it’s a biggie because my last daughter, my Bonus, walked across that stage at Vanderbilt University. My Hailee Hall received a bachelor’s degree in Biochemistry with a minor in Musicology. Our conversation on the way home was worth every dollar spent.
We started on AI, and strangely enough, we agreed. We both hate the concept and the emerging technology for the same reasons: environmental, ethical, and educational.
Michael, the new movie was first and foremost. I was explaining to Hailee how, as kids, we gleaned so much from songs by the Jackson 5s. We’ll get back to that, but first, let me tell you why I believe AI will do us more harm than good.
Remember, before cell phones, when you had anywhere from 50 to a couple of hundred telephone numbers memorized? Statistically in 2026, almost 30% of Americans don’t know their own number.
Before cell phones, we relied on repetition, the physical action of dialing, and necessity. Admittedly, we only dialed seven digits, and we had fewer than half of the area codes we have today. But in the end, there is evidence that “smartphones’ are making us dumb.
Excessive phone use can impact memory, attention span, and cognitive function, while creating “brain drain” or “brain rot.”
In other words, a smartphone can make you stupid.
Another technological advance that we discussed was Spellcheck. I was a fifth and sixth-grade spelling bee champ, but my ability to remember how to spell some words is waning. Remembering the old maxim or aphorism that said “I before E except after C” helps, but my recall ain’t what it was.
AI pointed out negatives too: “Spellcheck and autocorrect have changed how we process language, making us rely more on tech and less on manual skill. Some people even feel they struggle with words they once knew.”
AI, as we are inclined to use it, will eventually lead to many of us being less mentally engaged, or in common English, Stupid! AI can and will lead to “skill atrophy” and a diminished reliance on one’s own cognitive ability.
Critical thinking, memory, and creativity will be replaced with a technological system that wastes our water supply and drains our electrical grids.
As we multitasked our conversation between AI and the Michael movie, I explained to her that scripting, once prevalent in theater and music, is no longer as prevalent, and we suffer from it.
In “Stop the Love You Save,” MJ and the boys talked to an educated audience. If you didn’t know, they were referring to Sir Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Graham Bell, and Christopher Columbus in the verse above, you missed the beauty of critical thinking as it is applied to music.
So, our thesis is simple. If cellphones took your ability to remember and recite and spellcheck rendered you unable to sound out and spell words with more than six letters…after AI, U Gon’ B Stoopit!
Quit Playin with AI!”
A long-time Texas Metro News columnist, Dallas native Vincent L. Hall is an author, writer, award-winning writer, and a lifelong Drapetomaniac
