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Study: GenAI Is Eroding Critical Thinking
A new study co-authored by Microsoft found that those with high confidence in the ability of generative AI also exhibit lower critical thinking skills.
The report (PDF), titled "The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking: Self-Reported Reductions in Cognitive Effort and Confidence Effects From a Survey of Knowledge Workers." was compiled by a team of Microsoft Research and Carnegie Mellon University scientists and surveyed 319 individuals who use GenAI tools at least once a week in their work "to investigate 1) when and how they perceive the enaction of critical thinking when using GenAI, and 2) when and why GenAI affects their effort to do so."
The paper determined that those with higher confidence in GenAI tools experience a decline in critical thinking, while those with high self-confidence in their own skills demonstrated a greater ability for critical thinking. According to the report:
Analysing 936 real-world GenAI tool use examples our participants shared, we find that knowledge workers engage in critical thinking primarily to ensure the quality of their work, e.g. by verifying outputs against external sources. Moreover, while GenAI can improve worker efficiency, it can inhibit critical engagement with work and can potentially lead to long-term overreliance on the tool and diminished skill for independent problem-solving.
According to the researchers, GenAI is eroding critical thinking by fundamentally changing how professionals deal with certain business tasks, specifically in these three areas:
- Information gathering and verification: AI automates the retrieval and organization of data, reducing the effort needed to find information. However, workers must now spend more time verifying AI-generated content for accuracy and reliability.
- Problem solving and AI response integration: Instead of solving problems independently, workers focus on refining and adapting AI outputs to meet their specific needs, including adjusting tone, context and relevance.
- Task execution and task stewardship: Rather than performing tasks directly, workers oversee AI processes, guiding and evaluating outputs to ensure quality. While GenAI handles routine work, responsibility and accountability remain with human users.
While GenAI reduces cognitive effort in some areas, it increases the need for verification, integration and oversight, reinforcing the importance of maintaining critical thinking skills. For this effort, researchers suggest future development of GenAI tools to facilitate higher critical thinking. This can be done by integrating feedback mechanisms that can help users gauge the reliability of GenAI outputs. Further, tools should be designed to customize AI assistance levels, based on a user's task confidence and expertise.
"We find that knowledge workers often refrain from critical thinking when they lack the skills to inspect, improve, and guide AI-generated responses," read the report. "GenAI tools could incorporate features that facilitate user learning, such as providing explanations of AI reasoning, suggesting areas for user refinement, or offering guided critiques."