📝 SummarXiv

Abstract

Does using AI make you stupid? Contrary to predictions by lay forecasters, participants randomly assigned to practice writing with access to an AI tool improved more on a writing test one day later compared to writers assigned to practice without AI -- despite exerting less effort. Likewise, whereas forecasters predicted that AI would be less helpful, and less worth paying for, than personalized feedback from experienced human editors, we found the converse: practicing with AI increased skill more than feedback from human editors (or simply googling examples and tips). The results of a third experiment suggest that AI may teach by example: writers merely shown an AI-generated cover letter (without the opportunity to practice) performed as well as writers who practiced writing with the original AI tool. Collectively, the findings of these pre-registered studies constitute an existence proof that by providing personalized, high-quality examples, AI can improve, rather than undermine, learning.