“You have 18 months”

Explores the concern that AI's rapid advancement threatens not through job displacement, but through cognitive atrophy. As students increasingly use ChatGPT for writing and reading comprehension declines to 32-year lows, the real risk is humans deskilling themselves by outsourcing thinking to machines. Writing and reading form the foundation of deep symbolic thinking—the competitive advantage in knowledge work. Rather than worrying about AI surpassing human capabilities in 18 months, focus on maintaining the patience and discipline to engage in sustained, complex thought.