Is AI Making Our Students Dumber? 10-28-25 - Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast

Summary3 min read

Episode Overview

In this episode of the Becker Private Equity & Business Podcast, host Scott Becker explores a timely and provocative question: "Is AI making our students dumber?" Using insights from a seasoned high school teacher and Cal Newport’s book Deep Work, Becker investigates whether widespread reliance on artificial intelligence and easy-access technology is diminishing students’ ability to engage in rigorous, analytical thinking. The discussion centers on educational trends, cognitive stamina, and personal reflections on deep work.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

The Central Question (00:00–01:00)

Main Topic: Scott Becker opens the discussion by referencing a recent conversation with an accomplished high school teacher, raising the question:

“Is AI making our students dumber?”
Source of Concern: Both the teacher’s observations and Cal Newport’s Deep Work suggest that minimal engagement in challenging cognitive tasks might be eroding students’ capabilities for rigorous thought.

Rigorous Thought and Intellectual Decline (01:00–02:15)

Teacher’s Observation: For the first time, even advanced AP students are frequently opting out of tackling difficult problems.
Underlying Theory:
- Citing Deep Work, Becker explains:
  
  “If you’re not stressing and working deeply your brain and rigorous problems... you become less capable of doing so.” (Scott Becker, 01:12)
Contrast: There’s a distinction between responding quickly to many tasks (facilitated by AI and tech) and engaging in deep, analytical work that requires more sustained effort.

The Importance of Deep Work (02:15–03:30)

Reference to Cal Newport: The concept of blocking out time for serious, undistracted work is highlighted.
Quote:

“If we get so used to not giving ourselves blocks, time and serious work, we end up being able to respond to lots of stuff but not really do so in a deeply analytical way.” (Scott Becker, 02:27)
Implication: The routine use of tools that “don’t force us to do rigorous thought” could result in a general decline in students’ and professionals’ cognitive depth.

Personal Reflections (03:30–04:15)

Becker’s Own Experience: He admits to sometimes falling into the same traps—favoring easier, rapid-response tasks over more challenging, sustained intellectual endeavors.
Quote:

“I find myself guilty of a lot of these behaviors that are leading to the inability to do the deeper, more thought, intensive work.” (Scott Becker, 03:46)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

On Cognitive Decline:

“If you’re not sort of stressing and working deeply your brain and rigorous problems, much like more difficult STEM problems, you become less capable of doing so.” (Scott Becker, 01:12)
On Modern Educational Trends:

“More kids in really bright classes, not really dealing with difficult, rigorous problems like they were at one time.” (Scott Becker, 01:32)
On the Risk of Shallow Work:

“If we get so used to not giving ourselves blocks, time and serious work that we end up being able to respond to lots of stuff but not really do so in a deeply analytical way that has more depth to it.” (Scott Becker, 02:27)
On Personal Accountability:

“I find myself guilty of a lot of these behaviors that are leading to the inability to do the deeper, more thought, intensive work.” (Scott Becker, 03:46)

Important Timestamps

00:00 – Episode introduction and topic framing
01:12 – The link between rigorous mental effort and cognitive ability
01:32 – High school teacher’s observation on student engagement
02:27 – Core insight on the dangers of shallow work
03:46 – Scott Becker’s personal reflection

Tone and Style

Scott Becker maintains a thoughtful, reflective tone throughout, combining expert observations with personal candor. The episode is succinct, introspective, and meant to initiate a broader conversation about the roles of technology and AI in shaping intellectual habits—particularly for students but resonating with working professionals as well.

Summary:
This brief but insightful episode serves as a cautionary note on the unexamined adoption of AI and tech conveniences in education. Becker emphasizes the critical role of sustained, challenging work in developing true cognitive ability, echoing both academic theory and real-world classroom experience. His reflections invite listeners to reconsider their own habits and the long-term impacts of digital tools on deep thinking.

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Transcript1 lines

[00:00]
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This is Scott Becker with the Becker Business Podcast and the Becker Private Equity Podcast. We try and cover business investing and a lot more here at the Becker Business and Becker Private Equity Podcast. Today's discussion is artificial intelligence and is it making our students dumber? So here's the question, and this really came out of a discussion with a brilliant teacher who teaches variety of subjects to advanced students in high school, to AP students, and so forth. In the reflection that comes out of his teaching and also out of this book called Deep Work by Cale Newport is that people are getting so used to using tools that don't force them to do rigorous thought that they're getting worse and worse at rigorous thought. I think the concept from one of the teachers and from Newport and Deep Work is that if you're not sort of stressing and working deeply your brain and rigorous problems, much like more difficult STEM problems, you become less capable of doing so. I think the high school teacher said that for the first time ever, he's got more kids in really bright classes, not really dealing with difficult, rigorous problems like they were at one time. And it resonates very closely with the Cal Newport study on Deep Work that if we get so used to not giving ourselves blocks, time and serious work that we end up being able to respond to lots of stuff but not really do so in a deeply analytical way that has more depth to it. As a counter to this, I'm obviously working on more, deeper, longer writing and some other things, but I find myself guilty of a lot of these behaviors that are leading to the inability to do the deeper, more thought, intensive work. I think a fascinating, fascinating discussion. Thank you for listening. Thank you for joining the Back of Private Equity and the Back of Private in the Back of Business podcast. We hope you find this helpful and thoughtful. Thank you for listening.