The Death of Thought in Medical Education: Bernard Stiegler, Techno-anthropology, and So-Called Artificial Intelligence

Abstract: Bernard Stiegler argued that technology and humanity consist; they are inseparable because they came into existence simultaneously. Technology is a necessary part of human thought, yet it also is the very thing that destroys our ability to think freely. This dynamic led Stiegler to identify technology as a "pharmakon," both a cure and poison. According to him, advances in technology, particularly media, often harmed our ability to think freely and led to an increase in passive nihilistic thought, i.e. going with the crowd. Living a fully human life in which one can develop autonomous thought becomes more difficult during those times. People begin to believe things simply because a book, TV show, or social media influencer said them. However, with effort technologies can be harnessed to aid in the development of autonomy.

Today, large language models (often erroneously called artificial intelligence) present a threat to ethics in medicine. The embrace of LLM's and a deemphasis on the humanities in health professional programs, especially writing, will lead to an increase in practitioners who do not know how to think for themselves. The danger is that graduates of these programs (nurses, respiratory therapists, et al) will not have the skills to challenge the medical establishment when necessary.

This presentation will make the case for medical education that is free of LLM's until students have learned how to read, write, and think for themselves. My argument will be rooted in the techno-anthropology of Stiegler as expressed in Technics and Time, 1.