Is artificial intelligence eroding our critical thinking?
Is artificial intelligence eroding our critical thinking?
By Ross Pomeroy | Published: 2025-01-27 16:28:00 | Source: Thinking – Big Think
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In a series of experiments described in Science Magazine In 2011, a trio of researchers found evidence to support a sneaking suspicion that surfaced in the minds of many Google fans: Frequent users of online search engines did not retain information gathered through online espionage as well as individuals who learned information offline. As scientists hypothesized, it was as if people and their computers had turned into “interconnected systems,” with basic memory functions delegated to search engines.
Over the following years, this “Google effect“It’s taken on a new moniker: ‘digital amnesia.’ It’s the tendency to forget information that can easily be found online via search engines. After all, why would the brain waste its resources storing information available at the click of a button? Instead, people would do better to remember how To access information.
Google Now The most popular site In the world, the Internet itself is the ultimate repository of human knowledge. If Googlers’ brains and their search engine were interconnected then, they have essentially merged now. The myriad implications are left to speculation.
Now, artificial intelligence exists to complement—or even replace—human cognition, potentially redefining and expanding digital amnesia. From digital assistants to ChatGPT to Google Search AI Overview, AI plans our days, carries out our work, and answers our questions. In essence, he is thinking for us. Will this new relationship reshape the way we think and act? Research is ongoing, with a major focus on critical thinking.
Artificial intelligence increasingly thinks for us
Critical thinking is the ability to analyse, evaluate, and synthesize information to make logical decisions. People who score high on scientific measures of critical thinking get better grades in school, and they are more… They are good at their jobsand less susceptible to manipulation.
Critical thinking may seem vague and unimportant, but this impression could not be further from reality. For example, when comparing different loan terms for a home or checking car insurance rates, you think critically. When you delve into the meaning of a poem, book, or work of art, you think critically. When you plan your busy day to make the most of your time, you think critically.
Here’s the thing: AI can do all these tasks for you and more quite efficiently. Its use is becoming increasingly prevalent. Since its launch in 2022, ChatGPT has risen to become the ninth most trafficked app Website The fourth most popular app on iPhone. Artificial intelligence tool He has 300 million weekly active users and 123.5 million daily active users as of early January.
the people Artificial intelligence is often used To draft emails, plan travel, get financial advice, summarize texts, and prepare for job interviews. According to A 2024 Pew Research Pollnearly half of Americans said they use AI at least several times a week, while a recent poll found that almost all Americans use products that contain AI (Although two-thirds do not realize it).
Companies offering AI assistants sell them as productivity boosters. They argue that assigning them monotonous mental tasks and queries frees up users’ time and cognitive resources, which they can then spend on other, more creative and innovative activities. The idea makes intuitive sense and has support in the scientific literature. according to Cognitive load theoryThe human cognitive system has limited capacity. So reducing cognitive load can enhance learning and performance.
Atrophy of critical thinking
However, offloading cognitive tasks to AI may be counterproductive. As AI becomes more common in everyday life, psychologists argue that it reduces users’ engagement in deep, reflective thinking, causing their critical thinking skills to atrophy over time.
Professor Dr. Michael Gerlichhead of the Center for Corporate Strategic Foresight and Sustainability at the Swiss Business School, is one of the researchers studying this risk.
“If individuals use the cognitive resources freed up by AI to undertake innovative tasks, the promise remains,” he told Big Think. “However, my research and related studies suggest that many users are channeling these resources into passive consumption, driven by AI-enhanced content curation. This trend is consistent with findings on digital adoption, where the ease of AI reinforces a feedback loop that prioritizes entertainment over critical engagement.”
In other words, when AI frees up users’ cognitive resources, they typically don’t use their extra time and brain power to solve problems or get creative. Instead, they ignore it by watching Netflix or browsing social media, content delivered by AI algorithms.
In Gerlich Latest researchwas published on January 3 in the magazine CommunitiesIt surveyed 666 UK participants about their use of AI tools, and also measured their critical thinking skills through frequently used, scientifically validated critical thinking assessments.
Gerlich found a very strong negative relationship between people’s use of AI tools and their critical thinking skills. The more they use, the lower their skills. Younger participants tended to rely more on AI tools than older participants. Education was associated with greater critical thinking skills and mitigated the negative impact of AI.
Many participants suspected that AI hindered their ability to think critically.
“I find myself using AI tools for almost everything – whether it’s finding a restaurant or making a quick decision at work,” one said. “It saves time, but I wonder if I’m losing my ability to think things through as comprehensively as I used to.”
“I rely so much on AI that I don’t think I would know how to solve some problems without it,” another worried.
Gerlich’s findings suggest that participants were right to be concerned.
“As individuals increasingly offload cognitive tasks to AI tools, their ability to critically evaluate information, discern biases, and engage in reflective thinking is diminished,” he wrote. “This relationship underscores the dual nature of AI technology: while it promotes efficiency and convenience, it inadvertently promotes dependence, which can harm critical thinking skills over time.”
Correct use of artificial intelligence
Despite the stark findings, Gerlich makes it very clear that this troubling association is not fate. There are several reasons. First, the finding requires more research to be fully validated.
“One possible direction is to study the longitudinal effects of using AI tools on critical thinking skills over time,” he recommended. “This may include tracking individuals’ cognitive development and patterns of use of AI tools over several years to comprehensively understand long-term impacts.
Second, he believes that how we use AI makes a big difference. AI is essentially a tool, and tools can be used correctly or incorrectly.
“These results are associated with Incorrect use “Artificial intelligence. In my opinion, the correct use of artificial intelligence can help increase critical thinking skills,” he told Big Think.
So how can we use artificial intelligence correctly?
“AI tools such as common large language models can be used in critical discussions and not just as a tool that replaces an individual’s work or thinking,” Gerlich said.
Generative AI is great for brainstorming, surfacing catalysts’ choices and ideas Maybe you didn’t think. AI can also enhance critical thinking when users refine the questions they ask to achieve desired results. For example: Trying to get an AI image generator to produce something that matches what you imagine. You need to be very clear and descriptive.
Teaching artificial intelligence in schools
It is very important for teachers to educate students about the proper use of AI assistants. Students must Learn how to evaluate Validate AI responses, evaluate generative AI writing, and iteratively sculpt the output.
Of course, students still need to learn the many skills that AI offers, such as content analysis, writing, mathematics, and logic. Otherwise, we risk turning AI into a “black box,” says Gerlich.
“This ‘black box’ problem can reduce critical engagement and accountability, as individuals may blindly trust AI recommendations without questioning or evaluating them.”
“Educational systems should focus on active learning, promoting exercises such as argument analysis and problem-based learning,” he added. “In professional settings, creating environments where independent decision-making is valued can help maintain these skills. Engaging in reflective activities, such as journaling or discussion, can also promote deeper cognitive engagement.”
The road to recession?
Public intellectual and author Yuval Noah Harari opinion Humans could become increasingly cognitively inactive as AI becomes more automated, leading to programmed thinking and societal stagnation.
This dystopia is not implausible, “particularly if AI adoption continues without parallel efforts to protect cognitive sharing,” Gerlich told Big Think.
“However, this path is not inevitable,” he rebutted. “Interventions, such as including critical thinking exercises in education and supporting ethical design of AI that encourages human participation, can counter these trends.”
Integrating AI into everyday life requires balance, Gerlich said. Its benefits are too great to ignore, but we cannot accept it without thinking.
“Ultimately, the choice lies with each individual: either take the appropriate path to allow AI to handle our critical thinking, or keep this basic cognitive process to ourselves.”
However, he has some pessimism.
“A portion of society will likely choose the path of least resistance.”
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