I agree with you on the question of extrinsic values and do not envy people who are starting college right now, trying to make decisions about an extra-ordinarily unclear future. I recently became a father and I try to convince myself that in eighteen years we'll at least finally know whether it has all been hype or not.
However, on the intrinsic value of these new tools when developing habits and skills, I just think about the irreplaceable role that the (early) internet played in my own development and how incredible an LLM would have been. People are still always impressed whenever a precocious high schooler YouTubes his way to an MVP SaaS launch -- I hope and expect the first batch of LLM-accompanied youth to emerge will have set their sights higher.
>However, on the intrinsic value of these new tools when developing habits and skills, I just think about the irreplaceable role that the (early) internet played in my own development and how incredible an LLM would have been.
I don't know about that. Early internet taught me I still need to put in work to to find answers. I still had to read human input (even though I lurked) and realize a lot of information was lies and trolls (if not outright scams). I couldn't just rely on a few sites to tell me everything and had to figure out how to refine my search queries. The early internet was like being thrown into a wilderness in many ways, you pick up survival skills as you go along even if no one teaches you.
I feel an LLM would temper all the curiosity I gained in those times. I wouldn't have the discipline to use an LLM the "right way". Clearly many adults today don't either.