What do we lose when AI does the thinking for us? 

When I talk about AI here, I’m generally referring to generative AI: tools like ChatGPT and those that generate writing, images or music. So, the tools we ask to answer, solve or create things for us. 

This article isn’t me demonising AI. It’s brought huge benefits. 

I use it to help with areas of my business and situations around the house. Recently, I asked it for advice when my tumble dryer was about to burst into flames (the fix was to buy a new tumble dryer). 

But I think we need to be mindful of what we hand over to it. There’s a big difference between using AI to explore an idea and asking it to do all our thinking for us. When we hand over the questioning and creating, what chances are we giving ourselves to practise those skills? 

Handing mental tasks over to an external tool is known as cognitive offloading. We’ve been doing this for years with calendars, shopping lists, sat navs and calculators. It can be really useful. AI, however, gives us the chance to hand over much more of the thinking process itself. 

 What makes a task worthwhile? 

If we hand a task over to AI, we might gain efficiency, but the task itself might have given us something valuable, like a sense of achievement, a chance to express ourselves, or a reason to get up and get involved.

Before handing something over to the machines, maybe we should ask: “Am I removing a burden, or am I giving away something that actually matters to me?” 

If AI takes care of tedious tasks and frees us up to do something meaningful, that can of course be a good trade.

Why the effort matters 

The effort involved in learning is part of what makes it effective. 

Trying to recall information ourselves can help us remember it longer than just reading it repeatedly. Also, attempting a problem before getting an explanation can help us understand it better. Getting the answer immediately could mean missing out on the learning involved in working it out. 

We often learn from attempts that don’t work out. James Dyson developed 5,127 prototypes over five years while creating his bagless vacuum cleaner. Those attempts were opportunities to work out what needed changing. 

Try. Learn. Adjust. 

Failure doesn’t automatically lead to growth. We need opportunities to reflect on things, get feedback and try again. If we completely skip the attempt, we lose the chance to work out where our understanding is lacking. 

AI can help with this. It can offer a hint or explain something that we’re struggling with. My concern is what happens when we constantly ask for the answer before giving ourselves a chance to think it through. 

Creativity 

This is quite a personal area for me. I can’t draw any better than the average toddler, but I play multiple instruments and compose music. 

Satisfaction comes from developing a melody, trying different ideas and hearing a piece come together. Having AI produce a track for me wouldn’t give me any sense of achievement, because I wouldn’t have worked through those ideas or made those creative decisions myself. In fact, I’d feel like a fraud. 

Even if nobody else ever hears a piece I compose, it still means something to me. Its value doesn’t disappear because a machine can produce music more quickly. 

I hate to think that people are giving up their opportunities to create because they don’t think there is a future in it. I think the opposite is true, but I’ll leave that for another article. 

Keeping ourselves involved 

Writing an email yourself before asking AI to tidy it up is one way to stay involved. Or you could write it, check the details and send it without any AI involvement! Choosing what to say, how to say it and how it might be received is itself an exercise in thinking. Personally, I’d much rather receive an imperfect message that sounds like the person who sent it. 

It could also mean attempting a problem before asking for guidance, or asking AI to challenge your opinion rather than simply confirm it. Whatever we use it for, we should check whether its answers make sense, rather than accepting them because they sound confident. 

Saving time can be valuable, but so is spending time on something that challenges us, interests us or gives us a sense of purpose. 

Before asking AI to do something for you, ask yourself“What could I gain by doing some or all of this myself?”