Opinion: AI Era Transforms Reading Methods, Not the Core of Scholarship

In the age of Artificial Intelligence, the way we approach reading and learning is undergoing a transformation, according to an opinion piece in Liberty Times. The author, Xiao Xihui, argues that AI is not altering the core principle of scholarship, which Hu Shih described as building knowledge like a pyramid, broad and high, but rather revolutionizing the methods used to achieve it.

Traditionally, acquiring deep knowledge involved extensive reading across various disciplines, history, literature, philosophy, science, and integrating this with life experiences to form independent thought. AI tools, such as Gemini, can now accelerate the initial stages of this process. They can provide YouTube-style guided introductions, summarize complex texts, and help build a "knowledge map." This allows learners to quickly grasp the historical context, structural framework, and core issues of a subject before diving into the original source material.

However, the author emphasizes that this AI-assisted preparation is merely a preview, not the end goal. Whether studying religious texts like the Bible or the Quran, philosophical works like Lao Tzu or Zhuangzi, or epic poems like the Iliad, the ultimate step remains returning to the original texts for personal reading and contemplation. AI summaries and commentaries can aid understanding but cannot replace the act of direct engagement and critical thinking.

The new learning cycle proposed involves AI-guided introductions, creating knowledge maps, engaging in cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural comparisons, returning to original texts, reflective writing, using AI for debate and critique, and then revisiting the original texts from a more informed perspective. This "spiral reading" allows individuals to ascend to higher levels of understanding with each return to a source. AI helps broaden the base of knowledge, but personal experience and independent thought determine the ultimate height of one's intellectual pyramid.