DOES AI HARM CRITICAL THINKING, COGNITIVE AND CREATIVE SKILLS? A PERTINENT QUESTION IN AI ETHICS
Dr. Yamini Sahay
The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), into education has marked a significant shift in the way knowledge is produced, accessed, and consumed. As Matteo Wong aptly observes, AI has the potential to reorient our relationship with knowledge by prioritizing rapid, detailed and abridged answers over deep understanding and engagement with diverse sources and viewpoints. In contemporary educational discourse, AI is often celebrated as a transformative force capable of enhancing the quality, efficiency and reach of higher education. Scholars such as Bates (2018) highlight key objectives of AI adoption in education, including improving learning outcomes, increasing access and retention, lowering costs and reducing time to degree completion. While these developments demonstrate AI's significant potential to reshape teaching and learning processes, they represent only one side of the debate. The growing reliance on AI-driven tools for writing, research and problem-solving raises serious concerns about the erosion of critical thinking, cognitive depth and creative skills among learners. Easy access to ready-made responses may discourage analytical reasoning, reflective learning and independent intellectual effort. Overdependence on algorithmic outputs risks reducing education to information consumption rather than knowledge construction. This abstract argues that although AI offers undeniable benefits in terms of efficiency and accessibility, its uncritical adoption in education may undermine the foundational goals of higher learning. A balanced and ethical integration of AI is therefore essential to ensure that technological advancement supports, rather than replaces, critical inquiry, creativity and deep understanding.
The rapid integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly Large Language Models (LLMs), into education has marked a significant shift in the way knowledge is produced, accessed, and consu...