Learning in the Age of Infinite Information: AI and Cognitive Processing in English Education

The Development of Artificial Intelligence has revolutionised English learning from a constrained, teacher-controlled distribution of knowledge into an endless world of data. English learning tools, such as ChatGPT, grammar assistants, and English learning software, produce responses, illustrations, solutions, and rewritten texts instantly. This has established an endless world of knowledge for English learners. Though the provision seems endless and can access language input at unprecedented volumes, English learning is revolutionised at the cognitive levels of language learners. This paper will investigate the effects of the new world of endless English-learning knowledge, facilitated by Artificial Intelligence, on cognitive processing. Based on theories of cognitive load, information processing, and the world of linguistic data facilitated by Artificial Intelligence, the paper will explore the effects of an endless supply of linguistic data on English language learning. This paper will provide an overview of the English learning challenge, which is no longer a problem of accessing, but the human mind’s capability to filter, process, and develop meaning from the data provided by Artificial Intelligence. This paper will emphasise the need for redefining English language learning, an environment where data is no longer scarce but suffocating. Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Information Overload; Cognitive Processing; Digital Learning