How efficient is the human brain compared to AI?
Overview
As large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT become central to how people think, work, and create, we must ask: how efficient is AI really? In this lesson, students will compare the energy, time, space, and cost efficiency of LLMs to the human brain using rough “back-of-the-envelope” calculations. These explorations launch a Socratic dialogue about the ethical implications of widespread AI adoption. The lesson integrates physics, ethics, and critical thinking, empowering students to interpret data and form their own opinions on AI’s role in society.
- AI & Science
- 60 minutes
Digital Materials
Objectives
After this experience, students will be able to
- Estimate and compare human brain vs. AI efficiency across energy, time, spatial, and training costs
- Evaluate the broader implications of AI system efficiency on society
- Engage in Socratic dialogue to discuss ethical trade-offs of adopting LLMs
Questions explored
- How efficient is the human brain compared to AI?
- Should efficiency outweigh other human values when adopting AI tools?
- What ethical concerns arise when AI systems outperform humans in certain domains?
Key Terms
Large Language Model (LLM)
- A very big AI model that predicts many complicated sequences of text or code, using billions of data points. Some of these can produce text or code that looks more like what humans can do.