Quiz Bowl and trivia challenges strengthen teens’ brains in the AI era

Because learning and remembering bits of knowledge — even when they can be looked up effortlessly — is more important than ever, especially for young people who have grown up immersed in the digital world.

Trivia paves the way for higher-order thinking

Credit: Handout

Credit: Handout

Since the internet became widely available, there have been concerns that using it damages our brains. The idea is that when we know we can access information again later, like we can with Google search, we are less likely to store that information in our long-term memory.

These concerns have recently given way to fears of full-blown digital amnesia, where we no longer remember anything other than how to use our devices to get the information we need.

Although the extent of the Google effect on memory is hotly debated, this effect is not unique to modern technology: writing things down on paper or asking another person to remind us are also ways of offloading our knowledge and memories.

However, accessing information on the internet is so easy and the amount of information is so vast that using the internet may amplify the negative effects on our learning — or at least make us feel like we don’t need to remember anything anymore.

Trivia, on the other hand, rewards knowing a broad set of facts, and it is precisely this kind of knowledge that paves the way for higher-order thinking.

For example, you can’t debate whether the COVID-19 pandemic could have been prevented without knowing some basic facts about viruses and world geography. A strong knowledge base may also help people use technology more effectively or at least fact-check the answers that technology gives them.

Given that high school students are relying on AI for everything from homework to relationship advice, Quiz Bowl can help develop their thinking and reasoning skills and motivate them to keep learning new information.

Humans have an advantage over chatbots in trivia

Trivia competitions can also force players to think about what they know and how well they know it — a skill that seems to be diminishing with the rise of information technology. Using the internet to learn about a topic artificially inflates our sense of understanding that topic, making us feel like we know more than we actually do and leaving us more vulnerable to believing misinformation and conspiracy theories.

In Quiz Bowl, players earn bonus points for answering correctly before hearing the entire question (for example, after hearing only “This character says, ‘Cowards die…’” without getting to the clue about the Ides of March). But they lose points if they buzz in early and get it wrong.

Thus, the best players are not only knowledgeable; they are also good at gauging their confidence in their knowledge in real time. In fact, when human players are pitted against AI models in Quiz Bowl matches, the humans’ primary advantage comes from accurately judging when they know an answer.

Even the best quiz bowl players are wrong sometimes — and this is a good thing, too. Awareness of their fallibility can make teens more open to learning and make other people like them better. Confidently answering a question in front of your friends and family and being utterly wrong is also a great antidote to the flattery and compliments that users get from AI chatbots.

Quiz Bowl offers important benefits, particularly for teens who have grown up with constant access to the internet. Unfortunately, it is not as prestigious as activities like science fairs or debates, and there are no cash prizes or college scholarships on the line in Atlanta.

Nevertheless, in a world where nearly every question can be outsourced to technology, students who are capable of — and willing — to answer questions on their own should be celebrated. Even when they are wrong, the high school students competing in Atlanta will be demonstrating how we can all retain the knowledge and thinking skills that make us human and have fun while doing so.

Judith Danovitch is a professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of Louisville. The opinion expressed here is solely that of the author and does not represent the views of the University of Louisville.