LA CIENCIA DE DECIDIR

When did we begin to delegate not only tasks, but part of our thinking? At what point did we stop memorizing, orienting ourselves, or concentrating as we once did? Are we witnessing a silent transformation of our minds? Juan Diego Polo explores how digital technology ... from Google to generative artificial intelligence ... is changing the way we use our brains. Research such as the so-called ...Google effect... has shown that we remember less when we know information is stored online. Subsequent studies have shown changes in our spatial orientation with the use of GPS, in our fragmented attention due to social media, and in our creativity and analytical skills when we rely on AI-based assistants. Neuroplasticity, which for millennia allowed our species to adapt to the environment, continues to operate. But now it faces an artificial ecosystem that evolves faster than we can consciously process. Memory, concentration, critical thinking, and social connections are influenced by tools designed to facilitate and optimize every mental process by companies with their own agendas. It is worth pausing to look squarely at what is happening. Understanding this change is the first step toward deciding how we want to coexist with these tools and what space we want to continue reserving for our own capabilities. Because it is not just about technology. It is about how we think, how we choose, and what we are willing to preserve as our own.