1982 TRON prescience:
“Won't that be grand? Computers and the programs will start thinking and the people will stop.” — Walter
2026 students:
“How do you know an assignment is AI proof? Because when it is, students cannot do it.”
* https://www.reddit.com/r/Professors/comments/1vkw6by/how_do_you_know_an_assignment_is_ai_proof_because/
“I assign a profile essay. Have for 30 years. Student interviews a person, records it, writes a paper based off the recording. Citations are timestamps. Should be pretty easy. Has been easy pre-AI. Now, students cannot do it.”
Snippet from professor/student dialog:
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Prof: ”Start with what you found interesting.”
Student: ”How do I know if something’s interesting?”
Prof: ”You’re asking me how you find something interesting?”
Student: ”Yeah.”
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Chatbots / LLMs are not just "the latest tools" like using a calculator instead of doing arithmetic yourself.
Students are being robbed of curiosity, learning to discover and notice novelty, how to “find something interesting.”
This isn't cognitive enhancement, this is a tool causing brain rot (loss of curiosity), even a developmental disability. Unclear if it is reversible.
TRON quote citation: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084827/quotes/?item=qt0406255
Update, see also:
* 2026-08-19 “Teachers Warn That Students Are Losing the Ability to Think as They Lean on AI for Everything” https://futurism.com/future-society/students-lose-ability-think-ai
#TRON #TRON1982 #AIproof #interesting #chatBot #chatBots #LLM #LLMs #AI #brainRot #AIbrainRot #disability #Blaugust #Blaugust2026