Written by George Shadrack Kamanda & Albert David Bangura
I have heard some argue that a large base of knowledge is not as important today as it used to be—and they may be right because many people have access to the Internet and smartphones.
Equally, it is not entirely a waste to memorize certain types of information, especially those that are for public consumption and that we use daily. While we have digital encyclopedias and dictionaries in our pockets, the school of thought that there is no substitute or alternative for an ingrained knowledge base stored in the human brain is still a powerful force to reckon with, even in the networked age.
Notable advantages exist for informed/everyday citizens to have a solid base of ingrained knowledge to draw upon. The most important thing for our purpose here, in the citizenship context, is that having an ingrained knowledge base allows citizensto access information instantly at any time. Science is there to back it up, as the study of psychology has demonstrated that our previous memories or things we know influence how we process and interpret new information.
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Network Age
Generative Artificial Intelligence, a new technology that powers conversational chatbots like ChatGPT, has gained popularity, especially among students, since its release in November 2022. This is because it helps students quickly get answers to prompts or questions. However, most students misuse this technology. For instance, students can use it to cheat during exams by taking photos and uploading them to ChatGPT.
In contrast, as everyday citizens, we can use this powerful technology to make summary notes and internationalize basic information about a new topic. This is empowering because we contribute ideas from our knowledge base during conversations. Therefore, building a solid knowledge base is still necessary, even in the era of Artificial Intelligence.
Conclusion
The mind is a tool we use to think, but the mind thinks about the information we give it. In conclusion, as Everyday Citizens, we can empower ourselves as we build our nation’s human capital by building a solid knowledge base in our minds. Having a good knowledge base rather than simply relying on the ability to google or look up things affects our immediate analysis of new information every day. The moral of the story here is simple: Don’t replace your brain with a computer or any technological device
