Learning with LLMs

jwuphysics.github.io

AI is here, and its impacts on education cannot be overstated. Let’s put aside the issues of cheating; I assume that you want to learn, perhaps with the assistance of LLMs if they are actually helpful. But how do you know you’re not using AI as a crutch, versus using it to augment learning? The former setting outsources your thinking to AI, whereas the latter can help you reveal gaps in your understanding, bypass blockers that prevent learning, and/or tailor education to your style. In this post, I provide an analogy between learning and phase transitions in statistical mechanics, and describe recommendations and warnings on using LLMs in different learning scenarios.