#35 Jiayin Zhi: When AI Helps Thinking—and When It Replaces It
AI can speed up your work flow. But does it make you any smarter?
In this episode of the AITEC Philosophy Podcast, Roberto and Sam talk with Jiayin Zhi, a PhD student in computer science at the University of Chicago, about what large language models are doing to our thinking. Her research asks a question that is becoming harder to avoid: when we use AI to interpret, write, and reason, are we extending our minds—or outsourcing them?
The conversation begins with human-centered computing, the idea that technology should be designed around human needs, values, and real cognitive habits. From there, Jiayin shares findings from her research on AI-assisted close reading. One surprising result: AI-generated interpretations can improve the final written product, but too much AI can crowd out the pleasure of discovery and leave people feeling like there is little room for their own interpretation.
The episode then turns to critical thinking. Here, timing matters. Using AI from the start—especially under time pressure—can produce polished work without deep understanding. But using AI later, after doing independent thinking first, may help reduce myside bias by introducing counterarguments and alternative perspectives.
Along the way, we discuss poetry, interpretation, cognitive offloading, copy-and-paste learning, time pressure, myside bias, and the difference between using AI as a shortcut and using it as a genuine thinking partner.
This episode is for anyone who wants to use AI well without surrendering the struggle that makes learning real.
