Humans are already showing signs of losing their critical thinking skills as they outsource more tasks to technology.
A study by researchers at Microsoft and Lee Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh involved 319 knowledge working who used generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools at least once a week.
The researchers found that, while GenAI could improve worker efficiency, it could also “inhibit critical engagement with work and can potentially lead to long-term overreliance on the tool and diminished skill for independent problem-solving”.
The higher the confidence in the ability of GenAI to perform a task, the less critical thinking effort was put in by the workers.
The study found knowledge workers engaged in critical thinking primarily to ensure the quality of their work.
“When using GenAI tools, the effort invested in critical thinking shifts from information gathering to information verification; from problem-solving to AI response integration; and from task execution to task stewardship.” It concluded.
The Financial Times reported this week that concerns were rising that humans may have reached this “cognitive peak” due to technology outsourcing.
It said an analysis of teenagers living in high-income countries showed scores across reading, math and science had dropped since 2012, with adults showing similar trends.
A separate article in the Wall Street Journal said teachers were increasingly concerned that students were us GenAI to cheat on assessments.
On educator described the emergence of this technology as a “gigantic public experiment that no one has asked for”.
The full Microsoft and Lee Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh study can be found here.
