The death of critical thinking with the overconsumption of artificial intelligence

Rebecca Pack
17 hours ago
7 min read

When was the last time you used artificial intelligence? Whether it was a short search for a question you had or to complete one of your overdue assignments, do you find yourself being overreliant on AI? If you are, you’re not alone. According to the College Board, studies show that “AI use is more prevalent than ever in America’s high schools.” Worldwide, AI is portrayed as an incredibly efficient, helpful, and endless source of information that will spit out anything you command it to - but, what are the hidden, more menacing impacts that it creates?

How artificial intelligence impacts students

Despite knowing how to write an essay and solve a math problem, the 10 seconds it takes to type prompts into ChatGPT are tempting to most. Though these searches seem harmless, their ease can condition students to fall into a repeated cycle of going to AI as their first resort. Regardless of whether adolescents actually know how to do these tasks, they may skip the process because AI can do it faster. This ignorance leads students to slowly lose their critical thinking abilities. According to the article “To Think or Not to Think: The Impact of AI on Critical-Thinking Skills” by the NSTA, students who rely heavily on AI display lower critical-thinking scores. The text reads, “Studies have indicated that when individuals rely heavily on AI for information retrieval and decision making, their ability to engage in reflective problem solving and independent analysis may decline.” Asking AI for suggestions on minor topics will eventually advance into larger ones, followed by giving up on initial attempts at tasks altogether. By slowly eroding critical-thinking skills, the overreliance also initiates the abandonment of authentic academic effort. And while artificial intelligence is often praised for its speed and convenience, its growing presence in schools raises serious concerns about how students think, learn, and engage in their work. As AI becomes a first instinct rather than a last resort, its influence extends far beyond individual assignments, reshaping study habits as a whole.

Student study habits pre-AI v.s. post-AI

Artificial intelligence has begun to alter how students approach academic tasks, often prioritizing haste over genuine learning. In order to fully understand the impact of AI on students, it is vital to compare how study habits functioned before artificial intelligence with how they operate today. Prior to AI being used as a shortcut, students learned more through the process of consulting peers, online resources, and textbooks, allowing them to find the proper resources on their own. By forcing students to struggle and make mistakes, this process reinforced one of the most essential parts of learning: growth through inevitable error. Now, with AI able to provide instant answers, this process of maturing is slowly disappearing. Students may skip the steps that once built problem-solving skills for their future, relying instead on AI to do this work for them. As per the words of some working health officials, AI is truly diminishing intellectual abilities within children. According to an interview with Psychiatrist Dr. Zishan Khan from the article entitled “ChatGpt may be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, According to a New MIT Study,” he states: “I see that overreliance on [AI] can have unintended psychological and cognitive consequences, especially for young people whose brains are still developing.” Dr. Khan later adds, “These neural connections that help you in accessing information, the memory of facts, and the ability to be resilient: all that is going to weaken.” Despite the clear and horrifying evidence being presented, most turn a blind eye to the truth out of self-regard.

This leads to another post-AI habit that students commonly reflect: cognitive dissonance. Despite smokers knowing tobacco/nicotine is harmful and kills, they continue to do it anyway. Similarly, students may say: “Yes, I know AI is harmful to the environment and wastes huge amounts of water. I also know I should probably be doing my own work and respect academic honesty policies. But, ChatGpt hasn’t impacted me directly, and I haven’t been caught. So, is it really that bad to keep using?” With this mindset, teenagers are rationalizing negligent behavior solely for their personal benefit. This selfishness ultimately affects their overall growth as a person, slowly causing a regression in their academic abilities and capabilities.

While the reliance on AI is altering how students study, users often argue that the time saved outweighs the drawbacks. However, how the time is actually spent suggests a different story.

What about the time saved?

With all of the time supposedly saved by using artificial intelligence, what are teens doing with it? According to the article “Social Media and Youth Mental Health” by the NIT, “Up to 95% of youth ages 13–17 report using a social media platform, with more than a third saying they use social media ‘almost constantly.’” Teens aren’t using their spare time to cure cancer. Instead, they will waste endless hours viewing content on platforms such as TikTok or Instagram, overindulging in useless content. Yes, artificial intelligence may reduce the time spent on school work, but that benefit becomes meaningless when what is saved is instantly absorbed by mindless scrolling. Teens are also rarely encouraged or guided to replace that saved time with something meaningful, making social media the default option. Rather than using the extra time productively, it is wasted on brain-rot that further harms teenagers and their shortened attention spans. This constant exposure to quick, fast-paced content conditions teens to seek immediate stimulation, making it harder to focus on long-term goals and deep thinking abilities. And, though some teens might use social media for creative purposes or to learn, the overwhelming majority of usage is passive consumption rather than actual growth.

Beyond the waste of precious time, yet another issue emerges from the constant use of AI: the rarely questioned and increasing trust in artificially generated information, information which is so often untrue.

Why are we so trusting in AI?

With an increasing over-reliance in AI, why are so many people quick to assume that every piece of information it gives is actually credible? As artificial intelligence becomes more integrated into everyday life, many students have begun to accept all responses as accurate data without evaluating its credibility. The article “AI is Not a High-Precision Technology, and This Has Profound Implications for the World of Work” reads, “[AI’s] lack of precision can have serious consequences, especially in healthcare, where mistakes can be life-threatening. It’s crucial to be aware of these potential risks and to approach AI with caution and a critical eye.” It is widely unknown that AI models can never guarantee exact outcomes. The article mentioned previously explains that this is because AI is trained to “predict future data based on patterns,” not memorize random pieces of existing information.

This substantial reliance on artificial intelligence also encourages students to unknowingly incorporate flawed or unethical AI-generated content into their work. As stated in the article “The effects of over-reliance on AI dialogue systems on students' cognitive abilities: a systematic review,” “The adoption and over-reliance on AI dialogue systems have overshadowed critical ethical concerns whereby issues such as the generation of inaccurate or misleading content, algorithmic biases, plagiarism, privacy breaches, and transparency concerns have not been adequately addressed (Hua et al., 2023).” Without verifying the validity and authenticity of AI-generated material, students may blindly copy information that is false, or, even worse, plagiarized from someone else’s hard work.

This unquestioning trust leads to an even larger problem: AI is no longer just a tool, but has transformed into a substitute for independent thinking. But, is it solely the user’s fault?

The root of the over-consumption

Placing all of the blame on students disregards one of the deepest sections of the bummock of this iceberg. It ignores the larger systems that encourage--and sometimes require--AI use. While students are often criticized for over-consuming artificial intelligence, much of this dependence is driven by educational systems and technologies that normalize constant AI assistance. For instance, in the article titled “Rising Use of AI in Schools Comes With Big Downsides for Students,” it is stated, “Experts say a key reason for the increased use of the technology among teachers could be due to educational tools automatically adding AI as a feature.” The same study later goes on to say that “An estimated 85% of teachers have used [AI] in some way.” This conditioning causes students to assume that every-day AI use is valid, while in reality, it could be the source of their academic struggle.

Despite AI being incredibly prevalent in education, its pressures exceed school grounds. AI is now an option everywhere, from artificial chatbots on social media platforms to automatic AI overviews on simple Google Searches. AI is accessible everywhere. So, how could we blame students for utilizing something that is forced into all aspects of their everyday lives?

Acknowledging the multiple roots of these pressures allows for an attempt to resolve this over-consumption that harms students so deeply. Although AI dependence may seem irreversible, our society as a whole can create intentional steps to restore critical thinking skills and responsible technology use that was once lost.

How can we repair this seemingly unfixable issue?

What are some steps we can take to mend the skills that AI has damaged? The article titled “5 Actions to Avoid Over-Reliance on AI” reflects on a few worth researching yourself. After describing the 5 steps, the source mentions, “By taking deliberate actions, you can ensure AI remains an enhancer of skills, not a replacement for critical thinking and expertise.” Knowing and recognizing the importance of the limits one should take into account when using AI will allow for significant progress regarding this world-wide issue.

At the end of the day, if students give up thinking for convenience, what will happen to the creative and problem-solving abilities of this generation and the ones to follow? Remember: one will benefit more from struggle than from immediate answers. By setting limits to AI use, results will reflect positively regarding student academics and their cognitive abilities. Taking these steps one at a time will revive the critical thinking skills that were once lost, killing the over-consumption of artificial intelligence instead.