Ep. 15: How AI tools erode critical thinking through cognitive offloading

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)

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