Thinking like a mountain in the age of AI
| Authors: | Gavin M. Jones |
| Year: | 2026 |
| Type: | Scientific Journal |
| Station: | Rocky Mountain Research Station |
| DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1002/fee.70036 |
| Source: | Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment |
Abstract
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has nearly completed its infiltration within the tech spaces in our lives. Nowadays, you can seldom find an app on your smartphone or a piece of software on your computer that is not “AI-enabled”, offering shortcuts and summaries to save us time. Save me time, you say? Sign me up! As modern scientists, we find our time burdened with many tasks we’d like to avoid, which perhaps AI could take off our plates. That overdue annual report? Check. That cover letter to the Editor? Sure. Throughout history, advances in technology have created efficiencies in science. Why should GenAI be any different? After all, I’d wager that no one still ventures on foot into the stacks of our respective university libraries to find hard copies of a journal to check out or photocopy. Just type keywords into your browser’s search bar and (with the proper access) have a digital version of the desired article saved to your computer in seconds. Technology tends to make our lives easier and our work more efficient.