Slip the term AI in front of technology in the headline and you have the topic for a new study. Okay, so the study did not use the descriptors of stupid and lazy in its report.
While this post (originally published in 2013) focused on technology in general, the 2025 study zeroed in on artificial intelligence (AI). Both discuss the impact on critical thinking.
Critical Thinking About Technology
A discussion with writer friend, Jennifer Mattern, inspired the original post. Jenn expressed frustration that critical thinking is a lost art. Reminder – this was back in 2013.
Fast forward to today and that assertion is a major understatement. How so? Let me give you an example.
In the above illustration, Martha demonstrates critical thinking. Instead of blindly accepting the influencer’s claim, Martha did research at credible sources. If only we all exercised critical thinking before helping false information go viral.
The downside of technology’s effect on humans is not a new topic.
– In 2008, a technology writer questioned if Google was making us stupid.
– And AI’s influence on Google and other search engines brings a whole new frustration.
– A 2004 article described how computers change the way we think.
It doesn’t seem to be getting better. In today’s volatile world, critical thinking has become even more of the lost art Jenn described. Adding to the problem is the difficulty in finding credible sources for fact-checking.
For those of you who still believe in research, the 2025 study warns of the dangers to our critical thinking abilities by relying too much on AI.
Critical Thinking and AI
Societies, a peer-reviewed, open access journal on sociology, published its study findings in the article, AI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking.
The article describes the negative connection between the overuse of AI tools on cognitive thinking, especially through the occurrence of cognitive offloading. What is cognitive offloading?
Think about the old days of keeping an address book. No, not the one on your smartphone, but an actual paper-bound address book.
– That’s how you looked up a friend’s address or phone number.
– Some people are too young to know that experience.
– And some of us *ahem* older folks still have one (even if we use it less and less).
Cognitive offloading is when we use external tools, so we don’t have to think about performing certain tasks – like looking up an address or making a grocery list.
The study suggests the reliance on AI tools reduces our need for deeper reasoning and individual problem-solving. Those skills are diminished and can lead to long-term erosion of critical thinking.
– Additionally, the study reports younger generations exhibit a higher dependence on AI tools.
– As a result, they had lower critical thinking scores, compared to older study participants.
Well, this boomer noticed enough of my own change to refer to my smartphone as my electronic brain. I fight the urge with little tactics like still doing simple math in my head.
Critical Analysis
I love this quote I found at CriticalThinking.org.
Critical thinking of any kind is never universal in any individual; everyone is subject to episodes of undisciplined or irrational thought.
Maybe we’ve grown less disciplined or rational. I wonder if we can blame that on technology, too.
In the interest of restoring the lost art of critical thinking, the following are three suggestions for battling the rewiring of our brains.
1. Question Data
Just because someone designs a pretty infographic does not mean it verifies the accuracy of statistics and so-called facts.
Occasionally, we all fall for misleading statistics. I know I have, even though I typically have a better detector.
– Put the data in context .
– Verify the information.
– Know the source.
If you are unable to find the source under layers of Google pages, there’s a good chance the information is the figment of someone’s imagination – or the inaccurate slush of AI scraping.
Question – verify – know.
2. Check the Kool-Aid
Some of you may not be old enough to remember the Jonestown Massacre, which is the source of the drink the Kool-Aid expression. Cult leader, Jim Jones, convinced followers to drink poisoned fruit punch, resulting in the death of over 900 members.
The question – Why? – comes to mind.
You could ask that same question of certain online behavior.
– Those who deify self-professed gurus (especially with no first-hand knowledge)
– Social media followers who blindly accept posts as gospel
– Business owners who buy into marketing hype
Before you drink the Kool-Aid, you may want to check the ingredients and the person handing it out.
Think for yourself.
3. Open Your Mind
Opportunity lies in possibilities – that there is a better way – a different approach. Or something you have yet to learn.
– Allow disagreement.
– Welcome discussion.
– Listen with an open mind.
Open your mind to the possibilities.
Be Critical
Technology enhances our lives and improves our businesses. Critical thinking defines who we are. Do you really want someone else tinkering with the circuits?
- Question data
- Check the Kool-Aid
- Open your mind
Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.
Albert Einstein
Below is a quick graphic of the above suggestions.
What do you think?
(Bet that question takes on new significance). Share your thoughts in Comments.
Note: This is an update to the original post that published on April 10, 2013.
Credit: Bigstock Photo
Credit: Canva
Great post, Cathy! There’s a lot of thoughtless following in the world.
That third point in particular is telling if you’re evaluating what someone is saying. If there’s nothing but “hear hear!” comments allowed on a blog or if the guru you’re reading or listening to doesn’t allow open discussion, that’s a huge red flag.
Best we can do is apply the BS meter — does the conversation go one direction only with everyone holding hands and praising the fearless leader? If so, check the Kool-Aid.
Thanks, Lori. I agree it’s important to have open discussions. Lord knows I have learned a whole lot by listening to another point of view. I know I certainly do not have all the answers and appreciate the discussion.
We have so many variables in what our business needs are that I cannot imagine any single solution being the right one for all people.
Thanks for sharing your point of view, Lori. 😉
Very important post Cathy. I reviewed Nicholas Carr’s book The Shallows on my blog a year ago or so, and I’ve tried to be very conscious about using digital technology wisely.
I’ve also been a strong proponent of critical thinking, especially in my work in higher education as an instructor and writer.
If you get a chance, see the funny yet powerful graphic about smart phones I posted on Facebook yesterday.
I will definitely check that out, John. And I missed your review on Nicholas Carr’s book so I will hunt that down, too. 🙂
Thanks, as always, John, for your insightful comments.
Great post Cathy. The general lack of critical thinking I witness on a near-daily basis is a major pet peeve of mine. And when I have kids, my biggest hope is that I’ll pass that skill along. I consider it more important to be able to process information and think for yourself than just about anything else. If you never ask “Why?” or “Where did that information come from?” that’s a huge problem.
This is especially true in the blogosphere where we have this sick sort of hero worship resulting from the A-list illusion. People kiss the asses of anyone they deem “bigger” than them, coo whenever they dare to show up in someone’s comments, and take everything they say as original fact.
Some of the most worshipped also tend to be some of the least ethical and the least worthy of that unquestioned faith — the ones who steal content from others blatantly and pretend it’s their own and the ones who are repeatedly caught lying to readers as just two examples.
I can think of more than a few specific individuals who fall into this group. I know of three off the top of my head who have been caught censoring comments just because people disagree (even if politely). They can’t handle being questioned because they can’t defend their positions.
I know of at least three others who routinely steal content from other bloggers and act as if it’s their own.
I can think of one big example where lying was the norm and anyone who spent five minutes on the blog could see the constantly changing stories from one week to the next.
There’s an even bigger example of an extremely popular blogger in the writing community who outright plagiarized an obscure business book that most readers wouldn’t have access to. I did, I caught the theft, and it’s why I don’t frequent the site or have any respect for the guy behind it. But others eat up everything he says as though he’s the ultimate authority.
It’s truly repulsive to watch people devour everything they’re fed without putting in any real thought of their own. Most of this stuff isn’t even hidden well. If you respect yourself enough to vet your sources, you won’t have a problem identifying these folks. But most readers don’t seem to have that basic level of respect for themselves and their businesses.
As Yo said when we were discussing this privately (and I’m paraphrasing), people swarm to those who validate them by telling them what they want to hear. They want confirmation, and to hell with anything else. And unfortunately that makes the blogosphere a sad place to be much of the time.
You can’t escape the minion mentality when everyone’s trying to be the next big thing in as quick and easy a way as possible, and everyone’s looking for a group to belong to because they’re too afraid (or too lazy) to think for themselves.
The immediacy and reach of the technology — blogs and social media — make this easier. But it’s the people who allow it to happen. If we stop asking questions and vetting our information, we have only ourselves to blame.
Can’t tell I struck a nerve, Jenn. 😉 Your last few lines nail it. We allow others to do our thinking – they truly can’t make us accept their point of view.
And thanks for sharing Yo’s comment. That’s a whole other topic in itself – the fear to think on our own. I’ll leave that to a blog with a psychological theme. 😉
It’s interesting the two sides of technology influence. One is the don’t think aspect of technology tools – e.g., software/devices that calculate for us, spell-check, etc.
And the other is the enabling of all the noise of others that overwhelm our senses in social media, emails, and other forms of technology.
In an effort to keep this boomer brain going, I try some simple steps, like still calculating tips in my head or manually adding columns of numbers. And the other thing I do is shut off the noise – whether that’s turning off a Blackberry or shutting down the computer.
And I always try to catch myself from blind following. Thanks for your comments, Jenn. Hope I didn’t push your button too much. 😀
Great post Cathy, and timeless topic. I think you’re right to question whether critical thinking has lost some steam in the past decade. My personal opinion is that it has. That we’ve gotten lazier and that we look for answers instead of trying to find solutions (a process that requires us to think and research for ourselves).
The saddest part of this downward trend, in my opinion, is that it signals a loss of self-respect. After all, isn’t critical thinking about respecting yourself enough to want to discover the truth? To want to avoid being spoon fed content that’s laced with information arsenic? To not be a chump who falls into lockstep with whatever’s popular or has a lot of traffic?
I thought the snake oil salesmen were bad back when I was heavily involved in the freelancing “community” but it’s gotten so much worse in the few years that I’ve stopped participating in the conversation. While that should make me sad, it only serves to reinforce my decision to step away.
I would gush at you being here, Yo, but I’m afraid of what Jenn might do as a result. 😉
And I love the being spoon fed content that’s laced with information arsenic. Careful, your creative writer side is showing. 🙂
I often jokingly refer to my boomer brain, but it’s no joke. I don’t know if it’s too much data being crammed in all these years, but I find myself more and more reliant on technology to tell me things I used to remember. Now, that’s sad.
Thanks for sharing your pearls, Yo. Glad to have you drop by.
Great post Cathy, that got me thinking……which is good 🙂 Yes I think technology has made me lazy – although I do still love using the paperback dictionary rather than spell check. However, it has also broadened my mind and knowledge. I read so much online these days that I find I am learning something new every day. And if I want to find something out then Googling it is brilliant – but I tend to read through a lot of the Google results so pick up extra bits of info I wasn’t intentionally looking for. So yes – lazy, but not stupid 🙂 Thanks for sharing on Bizsugar.com
Thank you for the nice words, Sian. (BTW, how do you pronounce your 1st name – love it!)
Anyone who loves to learn has to appreciate the power of Google and the internet. When I think of the days researching before the internet, I am thankful for technology. Although I sometimes think it was easier to verify the validity of sources in the library than on the internet. 🙂
And I do relate to the lazy but not stupid comment. 😉
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Sian.
What a great topic, Cathy. My 2c? Technology is a tool – just because we use it to find information doesn’t mean we have to suspend judgment on what to do with that info. Pollyanna though I am in other areas, I tend to retain a healthy skepticism about statistics and gurus.
And that’s why you’re so healthy, Sharon, and smart, too. 😉