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Scott H. Young

What Scott H. Young thinks about AI and human skill

@scott-h-young · 22 positions · 2 changes of mind · On ppll ↗

Canadian writer on learning who taught himself MIT's computer-science curriculum in a year, then spent the following year travelling through Spain, Brazil, China and Korea trying not to speak English. Author of Ultralearning.

Scott H. Young did not write this page.

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8 dated positions, 2025 to 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Scott H. Young has said — not written or endorsed by them.

  1. Our readingAsking AI for help on a first attempt robs you of the experience that builds your own judgement about the problem.

    Their wordsAsking an AI for help with the start of an essay, for instance, will invariably shape what direction you end up following, robbing you of the crucial experience of building your own judgement around a topic and selecting your own path to research and argue.

    ↗We Need Guidelines for Learning and AIscotthyoung.com 3rd of 4 in this piece

  3. Our readingAI can supply the instruction and the feedback in a practice loop, but it cannot supply the middle step, which is doing the work.

    Their wordsAI has the potential to assist with both the first and last element of that loop. What it cannot replace is the middle step—doing the work for yourself.

    ↗We Need Guidelines for Learning and AIscotthyoung.com 4th of 4 in this piece

  4. 8 months earlier

  5. Our readingKnowledge that lives only in a book or a machine is not knowledge you have.

    Their wordsKnowledge is dead if it’s not in your head.

    ↗Will AI Make Us Stupid?scotthyoung.com 1st of 6 in this piece

  7. Our readingA skill being automated is not a reason to stop learning it: practising what machines already do is often the stepping stone to what only people can do.

    Their wordsVery often, learning skills that are automated in practice is a necessary stepping stone to cultivating uniquely human skills.

    ↗Will AI Make Us Stupid?scotthyoung.com 2nd of 6 in this piece

  9. Our readingYou cannot learn to code by having a model write it: the mental models only come from writing programs by hand.

    mental models

    Their wordsThe answer, I believe, is not too different from before: if you want to learn to code, you need to start by creating programs by hand.

    ↗Will AI Make Us Stupid?scotthyoung.com 3rd of 6 in this piece

  11. Our readingAI translation will stop you learning to speak a language, exactly as AI summaries stop you understanding a book.

    Their wordsSimilarly, AI translation will prevent you from learning to speak another language, AI summaries will block you from really understanding the arguments laid out in a book, and AI analyses of your personal problems will make it harder for you to think through solutions to your own problems.

    ↗Will AI Make Us Stupid?scotthyoung.com 4th of 6 in this piece

  13. Our readingSolving a problem yourself, without searching or prompting, is a form of exercise -- the help makes you weaker.

    Their wordsLearning requires an investment of effort, and AI will make us stupider if that effort is avoided.

    ↗Will AI Make Us Stupid?scotthyoung.com 5th of 6 in this piece

  15. Our readingIntelligence is becoming a choice rather than a byproduct of daily work: there will still be smart people, but only those who choose to be.

    Their wordsThus my personal prediction is that in domains that are already largely under the powers of modern AI, such as languages, programming or chess, we’re going to see a divergence in human abilities.

    ↗Will AI Make Us Stupid?scotthyoung.com 6th of 6 in this piece