If you believe that employees who heavily depend on generative AI might struggle with questions that cannot be simply resolved by AI, you could be correct.

A recent study from researchers at Microsoft and Carnegie examined the effects of generative AI on the cognitive efforts required from workers. The study indicated that if these technologies are misapplied, they can deteriorate critical thinking skills that should remain intact.

Analyzing data from 319 workers who utilize generative AI tools like ChatGPT or Copilot at least weekly, the study explored 936 pertinent real-world examples of AI tool use. Participants indicated that they mainly employed critical thinking to assess the quality of work, and as their trust in AI tools grew, their applied critical thinking diminished.

According to the paper, “Used improperly, technologies can and do result in the deterioration of cognitive faculties that ought to be preserved.”

The conclusion of the paper urges the design of generative AI tools to support critical thinking among knowledge workers by addressing awareness, motivation, and ability barriers. The findings highlight that faith in generative AI tools could lead to a decline in critical thinking regarding the accuracy of AI-generated results.

In future investigations, longitudinal studies tracking changes in AI use patterns and their effects on critical processes would be valuable. This could also address how generative AI tool integration into workflows necessitates ongoing scrutiny to preserve essential critical thinking skills.