AI Makes You Faster(?) - What LLMs Actually Are and Why It Matters

Large Language Models have become ubiquitous in our workflows with remarkable speed, already embedded in every application from Outlook to notepad. But just as sugar transformed from luxury to infrastructure before we understood its metabolic impact, AI is reshaping human cognition faster than we can measure the consequences. This session strips away the marketing hype to reveal what LLMs actually are: sophisticated pattern-matching engines that cannot distinguish between instructions and data. We'll examine hard evidence from recent studies showing measurable cognitive decline after just four months of regular use, and explore why developers consistently believe they're 20% faster while objective measurements show they're 19% slower. You'll learn about the fundamental architectural flaw that allowed journalists to bankrupt an AI-powered vending machine in three weeks, why every document in your knowledge base is a potential security risk, and what's happening to the generation of junior developers whose employment has dropped 20% since 2022. Most importantly, you'll leave with a practical framework for using these tools without outsourcing your ability to think. Unlike sugar, which affects our bodies, AI affects something far more fundamental: our minds. And we only get one shot at this.