Look, I'll admit it: I messed up.
AI outputs can disappoint, but it's a two-way street. Yes, the models hallucinate and have their off days. But the quality of your prompts matters - and sometimes, I get lazy. Seduced by AI's convenience, I'd rush through tasks, sending unchecked emails and publishing unvetted content.
I try my best to triple-check everything now. But those moments of exhaustion? Millions of years of evolution didn't exactly equip humans with the robotic consistency AI can achieve.
This research from Microsoft sent a shockwave suggesting that frequent AI usage is actively reshaping our critical thinking patterns. And some groups will bear the brunt of this shift more than others.
A 2023 paper saw this coming, highlighting two skills that would become essential in the AI era. Take a guess.
Critical thinking and science.
Not coding. Not data analysis. Not even AI engineering. But the fundamental human capabilities separate strategic thinking from mechanical execution.
In this piece, we'll examine how Gen AI quietly reshapes our cognitive landscape, using the latest research to map this transformation. But more importantly, we'll confront the second-order effects that nobody's talking about.
Because in our profit-obsessed world, who's thinking about the widening skills gap? Will business owners prioritize this issue? Or are we sleepwalking toward a future where we're eroding the very capabilities that make us human?
Shall we?
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