Flynn Effect
Discussion
Is There a Lowering of Cognitive Capacity Due to AI or Digital Technology ?
Q by Fabiano Incerti and Douglas Borges Candido :
- "Some authors talk about the reversal of the “Flynn effect”, suggesting that future generations will have a lower cognitive level than their parents. How do you see this issue in the context of emerging technologies? Do you think that the intensive use of digital technologies can contribute to this trend or do they offer new ways to expand our cognitive capacities?
Pierre Levy:
"The decline in cognitive (and moral) levels has been deplored for centuries by each generation, while the “Flynn effect” shows precisely the opposite. It is normal to see a stabilization of Intelligence Quotient (IQ) values: the hope of a constant increase is never very realistic and it would be normal to reach a limit or a plateau, as in any other historical or even biological phenomenon. But let us admit that today’s young people have lower IQ scores than the immediately preceding generations. We must first ask ourselves what these tests measure: primarily academic intelligence. They do not take into account emotional intelligence, relational intelligence, aesthetic sensitivity, physical or technical skills, or even practical common sense. So we are not measuring something limited here. On the other hand, if we focus on the adaptation to school functioning that IQ tests measure, why blame technology first? Perhaps families are resigned to the task of education (particularly because families are falling apart), or schools and universities are failing, becoming increasingly lax (because students have become customers to be satisfied at any price). When I was a student, an “A” in exams was not yet a right… Today, it has almost become a pure and simple substitute for human intellectual activity. Finally, and this needs to be repeated constantly, “the use of digital technologies” does not make much sense. There are uses that are mindnumbing, which slide down the slope of intellectual laziness, and uses that open the mind but require personal responsibility, an effort of autonomy and – yes – work. It is the role of educators to encourage positive uses."
(https://www.pucpress.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/CADERNOS_DO_CONTEMPORANEO_0000_P.pdf)