Ep. 15: How AI tools erode critical thinking through cognitive offloading
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Ep. 15: How AI tools erode critical thinking through cognitive offloading
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Most people don’t think about their thinking tools. When AI systems offer explanations, solve problems, or generate decisions, the convenience is obvious but there’s a cognitive cost: the more we offload reasoning to machines, the less we engage in it ourselves.
As always, there are two sides to everything - this is in alternative view to last week’s episode on the positive aspects of expanding our minds with Generative AI.
Key points
* Frequent use of AI tools is associated with lower critical thinking skills through a mechanism called cognitive offloading - delegating reasoning tasks to external systems
* Trust in AI increases the likelihood of offloading and reinforces the habit, while education mitigates the effect - but only when it fosters active cognitive engagement.
* Over time, offloading reduces cognitive resilience and weakens independent judgement.
Source: Gerlich, M. (2025). AI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking. Societies, 15(1), 6. (open access)
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit artificialthought.substack.com
