The Difference Between Searching And Doing Homework

InnovationAIThe Difference Between Searching And Doing HomeworkByJohn Werner,Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I am an MIT Senior Fellow & Lecturer, 5x-founder & VC investing in AIFollow AuthorJun 02, 2026, 04:03pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.Person thinkinggettyThere’s a new blog post out on Ethan Mollick’s One Useful Thing column on Substack, and so of course, I gave it a read. Mollick is someone with ties to MIT (and Wharton, as you’ll see) and a prominent voice on AI, so I pay attention to his writing.The newest screed, titled “Choosing to Stay Human,” goes into some of the ways that humans are using, and perhaps, misusing, AI in research and the study of some topic or another.Mollick uses the term “cognitive surrender” to talk about various ways that study subjects, and users in general, outsource thinking to AI. Another post by someone named Tina Austin contends that “cognitive surrender” as a term is making its way around Wharton, and takes pains to parse out the studies that Mollick covers. Anyway, Mollick’s post shows some of the big questions around human expression, human creativity, human skills, and AI use, although in this particular update, there are no otters.The first part of Mollick’s post is about writing.Writing in a Human WayListen, this stuff is getting stronger, and it’s gonna take as much as you give it. How do you stand out? As a human writer, you have to use language like a knife. To cut things apart, and maybe put them … back together. I personally like to talk about pizza and Billy Joel lyrics that I learned at a young age. Let me tell you about some people I know – they write like they never gasped for air, or felt hunger in their bellies. And AI can copy that.Look back at that last paragraph.Does it seem like it was written by a human? I could list about five ways that I can differentiate...