5 ways in which smart technologies are especially useful:

• Complexity. Fields such as data visualization, financial accounting, and statistical analysis all benefited from the speed and accuracy of technology.
• Reliance and skill. Advances in computational ability free up cognitive resources so that coders and data scientists can focus on understanding data and building better programs.
• The internet offers far greater access to information than any previous technology. Because we don't need to memorize, our mental resources are free to be used for creativity or learning other things.
• Flexibility. People can freely choose what information to memorize and what to offload.
•  With so much information at our fingertips, we can choose what to focus our attention on. (However, this assumes that smart tech isn't addictive.)

But we should also be aware that every benefit comes with a cost.

• A new paper in Nature Human Behaviour states that technology is not making us dumber. The idea that smartphones and digital technology damage our biological cognitive abilities is not backed up by science. 
• The authors believe smart technology changes how we engage o...