AI’s cyborg problem: you have to embrace it to really succeed but 90% of people can’t or don’t want to
A neuroscientist's experiment revealed that most people either passively rely on AI or use it to confirm existing beliefs, while a small fraction deeply integrate with AI to achieve superior results. This 'cyborg' approach, where humans and machines collaboratively refine ideas, outperforms both standalone AI and human experts. The findings highlight a growing cognitive divide in how people interact with AI technology.
- ▪Neuroscientist Vivienne Ming studied how UC Berkeley students used AI for real-world forecasting on Polymarket.
- ▪EEG scans showed most students' cognitive engagement dropped by 40% when using AI, indicating passive reliance.
- ▪A small group, termed 'cyborgs,' achieved high performance by deeply integrating with AI in a collaborative decision-making process.
- ▪These 'cyborgs' performed on par with professional forecasters on Polymarket, despite AI alone or typical human use being less effective.
- ▪Ming estimates only 5% to 10% of people are capable of or willing to engage with AI in this integrated way.
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A few weeks ago, I became briefly famous for the wrong reasons.Recommended Video The Wall Street Journal ran a piece about how I use AI in my work as an editor at Fortune — prompting drafts, synthesizing interviews, and accelerating a reporting process that used to take me twice as long. The response was swift, loud, and chaotic. The “journalism community” was divided as editors perked up and reporters recoiled. Strangers on the internet called me lazy. A few journalists told me privately they were doing the same thing and would never admit it. One reader asked to meet for coffee specifically to explain why I was wrong. I had not expected this. I had expected, maybe, curiosity.
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