Civilization has always offered its tools unevenly.
Writing, education, information—these gateways were never truly equal.
AI appears to break that pattern, presenting itself as a universal tool.
But its effects are anything but universal.
A Tool That Expands Thought
Ask AI a question and it returns more questions.
Those new contexts reshape the way thought unfolds.
For curious minds, AI functions as an external prefrontal cortex.
It accelerates thinking rather than replacing it.
A Tool That Replaces Thought
Others use AI only as a convenient answer machine, or avoid it entirely.
And without noticing, they begin to outsource not only their choices,
but the very question of how to live itself.
Unused cognitive muscles weaken quietly over time.
Equal Tools, Unequal Futures
AI is accessible to everyone, but outcomes diverge sharply.
The more universal the tool becomes, the more visible the unevenness it creates.
Those who wield AI as a weapon extend their cognitive reach indefinitely.
Those who treat it as a substitute surrender the habit of thinking itself.
Same tool.
Two entirely different futures.
Ah, irony.
It’s unevenness.