Cortex Compute 003

A newish arXiv paper by Solé and colleagues models reliance on large language models like a contagion, where small rises in exposure can tip whole groups from independent thinkers into dependent users. Lennart and Vugar ask which tasks you can hand to AI without handing over your judgment, whether Socrates’ old complaint about writing applies to chatbots, and what happens to people who never learned to think without one. Lennart also shares the four-quadrant model he uses to decide.

Takeaways

* Keep some thinking offline. Lennart splits his AI class into a prompting half and a pen-and-paper half, with backpacks against the wall and no phones or smart glasses.

* Match AI autonomy to the epistemic stakes. Lennart’s 4A model runs from assist tasks like spell checking to autopilot tasks like unchecked statistics pipelines.

* Writing eased memory, and LLMs replace the argument. Lennart contrasts Socrates’ worry in Plato’s Phaedrus with models that compose the reasoning for you.

* Decide what to delegate before you delegate. Vugar asks which tasks to hand over and warns that AI increasingly answers with data other AI generated.

* A fast lit review still needs checking. Lennart had OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra use the Consensus MCP to write an eight-page review with four pages of references in about an hour.

* Workplace norms can lock you in. Lennart pictures a law firm where the colleague who drafts by hand finishes one contract while the others finish five.

* Hand-drafting may need a mentor now. Vugar asks about people who never felt the pleasure of writing unaided, and Lennart calls it a delicacy next to AI as the McDonald’s of the modern age.

Timestamps

* [00:00:00] The cognitive virus paper. Solé et al. split users into uncoupled thinkers who verify outputs and dependent users who offload reasoning.

* [00:01:00] Habits, norms and The Shallows. How interaction frequency builds a reinforcing loop, and Nicholas Carr on the internet and our brains.

* [00:02:00] Cognitive erosion at scale. Lennart ranks mass dependence above an AI-built super virus.

* [00:03:00] Cognitive immunisation. Keeping AI from replacing memory, comprehension and analytical skill without banning it.

* [00:04:00] Pens and paper in class. Backpacks to the side, no phones or smart glasses, and opinion forming by hand.

* [00:06:00] AI migrants. Vugar on a generation that moved from hundreds of handwritten notes to answers on demand.

* [00:08:00] What to delegate. Vugar’s two questions, and AI answering with data other AI generated.

* [00:10:00] The 4A model. Lennart’s map of autonomy against epistemic stakes, starting with assist and advise tasks.

* [00:11:00] From automate to autopilot. Calendars, unchecked statistics pipelines and autonomous lit reviews.

* [00:12:00] Socrates and Phaedrus. The ancient Greek worry that writing would weaken recall.

* [00:13:00] Recording thought versus composing it. Why writing freed memory and LLMs take over the argument.

* [00:14:00] Friction is how we grow. Why “LLMs are just a calculator” misses the problem.

* [00:15:00] An eight-page lit review in an hour. AI-native PhD students and a grant review GPT-6 Astra built with the Consensus MCP.

* [00:16:00] Lock-in. Imagine adding two plus two only with a calculator.

* [00:17:00] More access, less grip. Vugar asks whether instant answers make people less informed.

* [00:18:00] The law firm scenario. Social and efficiency penalties for drafting contracts by hand.

* [00:19:00] Boiling the frog. How mutual reinforcement inside a company makes dependence the standard.

* [00:20:00] Drafting the newsletter by hand again. Lennart uses AI for topics and bullet points, then writes on paper.

* [00:21:00] Habits and joy. Vugar asks what happens to writers who never felt a paragraph come together unaided.

* [00:22:00] AI natives need mentors. Lennart hopes someone shows them the other path.

* [00:23:00] The McDonald’s of the modern age. Unaided work as a delicacy you have to hunt for.

* [00:24:00] Lennart’s Insight Incubator membership helps people make sense of AI and outlast the hype.

* [00:25:00] It depends. Vugar’s pro-AI case for dedicated lit review tools and Lennart’s line on total dependence.

* [00:26:00] Close. Keep up the cognitive exercises, and subscribe.

00:00 The cognitive virus paper 01:00 Habits, norms and The Shallows 02:00 Cognitive erosion at scale 03:00 Cognitive immunisation 04:00 Pens and paper in class 06:00 AI migrants 08:00 What to delegate 10:00 The 4A model 11:00 From automate to autopilot 12:00 Socrates and Phaedrus 13:00 Recording thought versus composing it 14:00 Friction is how we grow 15:00 An eight-page lit review in an hour 16:00 Lock-in 17:00 More access, less grip 18:00 The law firm scenario 19:00 Boiling the frog 20:00 Drafting the newsletter by hand again 21:00 Habits and joy 22:00 AI natives need mentors 23:00 The McDonald’s of the modern age 24:00 Insight Incubator break 25:00 It depends 26:00 Close

Links and mentions

People

* Lennart Nacke (host)

* Vugar Ibrahimov (co-host)

* Ricard Solé, lead author of the cognitive virus paper

* Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows

* Socrates and Plato

Books, essays and papers

* Solé et al., “Large-Language Models as a Cognitive Virus” (arXiv, September 2026)

* Nicholas Carr, The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains (2010, expanded 2020)

* Plato, Phaedrus

* Lennart Nacke, the 4A model of AI use (assist, advise, automate, autopilot) (YouTube video coming soon)

Tools and companies

* OpenAI, GPT-6 Astra

* Consensus, Consensus MCP

* Meta smart glasses

* Microsoft Word, LaTeX

Mentions

* Lennart’s Insight Incubator membership

* Apply for Lennart’s one-on-one coaching to dive deeper

* Boiling the frog

* McDonald’s

Over to you

Press play for the full conversation, then subscribe to Cortex Compute on your favourite podcast platform (links on the page above) and send it to a colleague who now starts every draft with AI. For weekly notes on writing and AI, join Lennart’s newsletter.