As of late, people have been infatuated with generative AI such as ChatGPT which has a reputation for being knowledgeable. Similarly, 2500 years ago, people journeyed to Athens seeking the epitome of wisdom, Socrates. However, Socrates surpasses ChatGPT in acknowledging limitations and promoting independent thought. Socrates' questioning compels students to pursue truth, while ChatGPT risks user over-reliance. Moreover, generative AI's lack of self-awareness hinders bias recognition. If generative AI could integrate Socrates' wisdom with its vast knowledge, it may one day become the modern Socrates. 

Socrates’ Wisdom: Prompting and Humility 

The renowned philosopher Socrates was admired not only for his wisdom but for cultivating critical thinking in students like Plato. His technique of questioning to draw out knowledge became known as Socratic prompting or "midwifery." Though claiming no wisdom himself, Socrates helped students discover "admirable truths within" through dialogue. His investigative questions challenged assumptions, revealing inconsistencies in beliefs. For instance, when discussing piety's meaning with Euthyphro, Socrates repeatedly dismantled definitions, forcing Euthyphro to re-examine societal and personal biases shaping his views, thereby deepening his understanding. Rather than directly disputing Euthyphro’s ideas, Socrates asked him to elaborate, exposing flaws. To put it simply, Socrates aided students in uncovering their own truths. His prompting adapted to responses, promoting ever deeper reflection. Guiding discovery rather than providing answers defined his technique's value. By explaining and defending their claims, students learned actively and curiously, developing skills with a lifelong impact. In short, like training wheels, Socrates provided temporary support, so students could eventually think independently.

Furthermore, the Socratic method requires students to confront their ignorance, cultivating intellectual humility, a core element of Socrates' wisdom. Despite having vast knowledge, Socrates famously proclaimed "I know nothing," admitting the constraints on human understanding and remaining humble. This Socratic humility enables genuinely pursuing knowledge by accepting one's limited grasp. Declaring these boundaries sparks further intellectual inquiry. The impact of Socratic questioning on students merits its continued use in classrooms nationwide. Despite the passing millenniums, elite law schools including Duke and Georgetown still employ this technique to strengthen critical thinking and elucidate complex legal concepts for students.

AI Limitations

A major benefit of generative AI is its instant access to extensive knowledge that can answer questions on nearly any topic. With just a click, students can easily outsource tedious assignments to AI. However, this convenience deprives them of the learning process crucial for building problem-solving skills. Unlike Socrates’ questioning that compelled independent thinking, AI simply provides answers, overlooking the value of students reaching conclusions themselves. To write an essay, students can simply type an inquiry and have it generated rather than conducting research in libraries or consulting experts. By skipping this process, they miss developing essential skills, such as critical thinking, for academia and beyond. Though expedient, overreliance on AI can hinder creative thinking and self-directed discovery which is pivotal in education. 

An additional shortcoming of generative AI is the absence of self-awareness, enabling the perpetuation of biases. While experts believe future AI could become sentient, current systems lack consciousness. Since AI training data is filtered by fallible humans, their prejudices creep in, propagating biases. For instance, AI often provides less stimulating content to female students, impeding their academic growth. Conversely, human teachers like Socrates can temper their partiality via self-reflection, allowing them to teach more equitably. But AI has no notion of self, precluding introspection. This lack of self-examination hinders awareness of biases, preventing AI from identifying and mitigating discriminatory tendencies on its own. Unlike Socrates’ wisdom, AI’s blindness to its own biases persists.

Integrating Socratic Wisdom into AI

Despite valid worries about generative AI, solutions exist. One idea is developing Socratic AI - training systems on Socrates’ dialogues to mimic his teaching style of questioning and debate. This AI would challenge users' perspectives, not merely validating their thinking. By posing thoughtful inquiries, it compels active reflection, boosting intellectual growth. Integrating Socrates' methods is key to spurring dynamic learning and curiosity. Rather than just supplying information, Socratic AI prompts independent reasoning. Much as Socrates guided students, it focuses on the journey of self-directed discovery, not prepackaged answers. Adopting this approach addresses concerns about overreliance while unlocking AI's potential to cultivate critical thinking crucial for effective learning. 

Another promising approach involves combining multiple large language models (LLMs) into one system where they first debate amongst themselves before generating the best response. This integration of diverse perspectives, with each LLM trained on different data, enriches viewpoints. Moreover, the internal Socratic-style discussion reduces biases as the models challenge each other's assumptions, reaching a more balanced conclusion. The LLMs also mutually verify accuracy. Researchers at Princeton's NLP lab created a framework in which one AI acts as a Socratic moderator for the debate while separate analyst AIs participate (Fig.1). Additionally, a distinct fact-checking AI vets all replies. In this collaborative ecosystem, the models refine each other's responses, producing higher quality, comprehensive solutions. Just as discourse strengthened Socrates’ students, discussions between AI systems with varied backgrounds improve critical thinking and mitigate individual limitations.

While AI has proven highly effective across domains, the ancient teachings of Socrates remain relevant for enhancing these systems. Integrating Socratic thought could significantly expand AI's capabilities. Just as Socrates served as a catalyst to challenge perspectives in ancient Greece, AI informed by his example can prompt society to innovate ideas and reexamine beliefs.