Are We Using AI to Learn, or Letting It Make Us Dumber?
AI, AI, AI. Nowadays, AI is everywhere, isn't it?
Every time you scroll, in all of your feed, every “new hack" or “new AI tool” video promises to multiply your productivity and make you an overnight genius/instantly famous. From acing virtual interviews to drafting entire reports, writing complex papers or essay, and even replying to simple emails (maybe even this very blog post!), AI has completely taken over our lives.
Every time I am on social media, Influencers and productivity gurus alike are practically screaming: "Use more AI! Do more! Save time! Get smarter!"
But after using these tools myself (a lot, I'll admit), a quiet question keeps nudging me:
The way we're using AI nowadays, are we slowly letting it make us, well, dumber?
Are we handing over our critical thinking skills on a silver platter?
After having this conversation with various groups and asking them how are they using AI, it feels like people have become so dependent on AI that many have lost confidence in their work. Seriously, people are asking AI to write or check even a simple email, just to be "sure it's good enough."
It's like we're asking it to think for us, to be us. (which AI can’t really do)!
When the Work Doesn't Sound Like You Anymore
I've felt this so much recently, you get a message or an email that reads kind of too perfect. But then you meet the person, and their thoughts feel... flat. Unclear. Completely disconnected from what I have seen in their writing.
This is especially obvious in hiring. We've seen applicants submit tasks completed entirely with AI, but when you meet them or work with them, it's clearly obvious: that's not the same person who wrote that application/submitted the task. Hiring has become so hard when you are actually looking for people with creative aspects needed, like designers, creative leaders, content writers, etc.
It makes you wonder: are we slowly outsourcing not just our tasks, but even our very thoughts? Are we actually losing the ability to develop our own ideas?
Let's Be Real:
AI Is Incredibly
Useful
Now, don't get me wrong, AI is an amazing tool.
Seriously! When it comes to boring, repetitive tasks or boosting productivity, it's a godsend. It's fantastic for summarizing long-long documents, coding, cleaning up meeting notes, researching quickly, or organizing scattered thoughts.
If a task is mechanical and doesn't require deep thinking for new ideas, then great! Use AI. Get it done. It can save hours of mental energy.
And many researchers and studies even suggest that AI, when used the right way, can actually help us develop our skills. It can push us to think differently, ask better questions, and even spark ideas we might have otherwise missed. If AI becomes a guide, like a curious friend who challenges your logic or helps you sharpen your thinking, it could be an incredible tool for learning, growing, and self-development.
But That's Not How Most People Use It
Let's be honest. Most people aren't using AI that way.
They're using it to avoid thinking altogether. To write everything for them. To generate answers, not questions. It becomes a replacement, not a companion/assistant.
And that's where it gets dangerous. If we keep offloading our thinking like this, what happens to our ability to create, reflect, or even form an opinion without asking ChatGPT first? It's like using a calculator for every single math problem and slowly forgetting how to add. “Hey, what’s 4+5? Oh, wait, let me get my calculator!”
I recently read a study where participants who used AI to write essays/work couldn't even remember what they "wrote." Their brain didn't really process the information because it didn't create it. That's not just about losing creativity; it's about losing ownership of your own thoughts. Scary, isn't it?
So, What Do We Do About It?
The AI revolution is here. We can't ban it; we shouldn't. But we absolutely need to ask ourselves some important questions:
How do we make sure AI is helping us—not replacing our thinking?
Do we need better education on how to use AI well? (Yes. Definitely yes. But with the speed AI is changing, can we really keep up?)
Should there be some basic rules or guidelines before it's too late? (This is already being considered in many countries. And we know it’s not an easy one to solve.)
Or is it simply about changing our mindset, like training ourselves to treat AI like a helper, not a brain replacement?
This Isn't the First Time We've Faced This
Whenever a big tech shift happens, people panic. When calculators came along, people said we'd forget math. When the internet exploded, people worried about attention spans (this concern became reality, isnt it?) and misinformation. Now AI is here, and once again, we're asking: are we losing something important?
But maybe the better question is: What do we want to not be taken over/replaced?
Because the tools will keep getting better. Our job is to stay aware, use them mindfully, and not let them take our biggest assets: curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking.
I read this somewhere,
“Let’s not let AI become the loudest voice in the room. Let's make sure we're still listening to our own.”
Ending Thoughts
Well, this blog more for me than for you. It’s a reminder to use AI mindfully, to treat it like a guide, not something I depend on completely. I won't lie, I overused it when it first came out. I was like, "Wow, this is amazing! I could proofread my ideas, get feedback on my writing, and use smarter, flashier words.”
But after doing that for a while, I started feeling too dependent. There were times I wasn't feeling confident doing things on my own. I even felt like my vocabulary was shrinking because I wasn't using the words enough to keep them stored. That realization hit me hard. It made me change the way I use AI. Now, I try to use AI as a personal guide or a friend, to ask me questions, sometimes to get my thoughts out or do search/summarizing documents.
For example in case of this blog,
After writing the whole blog, I asked AI to act as a reader, and tell me how is the readability, Do you think the flow is good, does it tell a story, where do you feel disconnected? which parts feel repetitive? does it clearly set expectations for the reader? Is the content scannable? etc.
I think I got a good answer that helped to see where I can improve the next time. :D
Another reason, I am writing this blog because, I am also really curious to know how are you using AI in your life? Have you felt like it's slowly becoming part of everything? And if it is—how are you staying in control of it?
Looking forward to the answers!
By,
Nidhi Agrawal