Is AI Making Reading Books Obsolete? Why Students Stand to Lose

In today’s world, a perfect storm is forming around the act of reading. With the advent of artificial intelligence (AI), both children and adults are spending less time enjoying books compared to how they used to. Surprisingly, a recent study shows that Americans read for pleasure 40% less than they did in the early 2000s. As someone who studies language and technology, I am truly concerned about how AI is changing our approach to reading, writing, and thinking.

The AI Shift in Reading Habits

AI’s ability to generate text has gained significant attention. However, its capability to “read” vast data and produce summaries or analyses of books, essays, and articles is just now being discussed among researchers and educators. For students, this means that instead of diving into a novel for class, they might just skim through an AI-generated summary of the plot and key themes.

This modern trend poses a real danger. When students start relying on AI to digest reading material for them, it could undermine their intrinsic motivation to engage with texts. This situation is serious enough to prompt me to write about the pros and cons of allowing AI to handle reading duties.

The Historical Context

In the past, students have always sought shortcuts for studying. From the late 1950s CliffsNotes to scholarly abstracts, researchers have been providing ways to sum up complex texts. The rise of the internet has only compounded this issue. Today, applications like Blinkist offer quick 15-minute summaries of mostly nonfiction books, available in both text and audio formats.

However, generative AI takes this to a whole new level. Tools like BooksAI not only summarize content but also provide analyses usually crafted by humans. Other apps, like BookAI.chat, allow users to “chat” with book summaries, eliminating the need to read the text yourself.

Imagine a student who has to compare Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye for a class assignment. While CliffsNotes could give an overview, AI can take it a step further by not only summarizing but also providing analyses and even generating discussion questions.

But herein lies a crucial downside: students lose touch with the enriching experience that comes from truly engaging with a narrative, from understanding a character’s growth alongside their struggles.

The Declining Interest in Reading

Even before AI became prominent, reading rates were already on the decline. In the United States, a report showed that the percentage of fourth graders who read for fun daily plummeted from 53% in 1984 to 39% in 2022. For eighth graders, the drop was even more alarming—from 35% in 1984 to just 14% in 2023.

Similar trends can be observed in older students. A survey involving 600,000 15-year-olds across 79 countries revealed that 49% read only when necessary—up from 36% a decade earlier. College students are no exception; recent studies highlight that reading assignments are being reduced, often due to students neglecting reading altogether.

Cultural commentator David Brooks shared a troubling observation. He once asked university students what book had changed their lives over their four years of study, only to receive an awkward silence, followed by a student who mentioned they only sampled enough text to get through their classes.

The picture for adults isn’t much brighter. A recent survey showed that only 54% of Americans read at least one book in 2023, while in South Korea, the figure dropped to 43%. In the UK, a survey found that 35% of adults identified as “lapsed readers,” having once been regular readers but lost interest, often due to social media distractions.

What’s at Stake?

Why should we care about reading? The reasons are endless. Reading promotes stress relief, learning, personal growth, and cognitive improvement. Research indicates a strong connection between reading and brain development in children, overall happiness, and a slowdown in cognitive decline as we age.

On the flip side, people increasingly let AI handle their reading, engaging in what’s known as cognitive offloading. Emerging studies suggest that by relying on AI to do cognitive work for us, we start to lose touch with our own ability to think critically and independently.

Not only do we risk losing cognitive skills, but we also miss out on the joy of reading. The experience of encountering beautiful language, powerful dialogues, and the emotional journey of characters is irreplaceable.

In conclusion, the convenience that AI offers is tempting, but it could seriously undermine the benefits of reading. As students and adults alike drift away from books, we must rethink our relationship with literary texts and protect the value that reading brings to our lives.

Embrace reading, join discussions, and let’s cherish the written word before it fades into an AI-enhanced oblivion!

ReadingIsFundamental #AIImpact #BookLovers #CognitiveOffloading #LiteratureMatters #SaveReading #StudentsAndBooks #EngageWithLiterature

Original Text – https://scroll.in/article/1085803/ai-is-making-reading-books-feel-obsolete-and-students-have-a-lot-to-lose?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=public