Are College Graduates Equipped for the Jobs of the Future?
I’ve been concerned about the overuse of AI systems such as ChatGPT by college students who rely on it too much. It has the potential to detract from using creative thinking in responding to questions and in creating essays and term papers. I was curious what ChatGPT itself would say about the matter, so I asked it: “How does overuse of AI stifle critical thinking.”
ChatGPT said:
Overuse of AI can stifle critical thinking in several important ways, particularly when people become overly reliant on it for decision-making, problem-solving, and learning. Here’s a breakdown of how that happens:
- Reduction in Effortful Thinking
When AI provides instant answers or solutions, users may bypass the process of analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information themselves. This can lead to:
- Less practice in logical reasoning
- Reduced ability to question assumptions
- A tendency to accept outputs without critique
- Erosion of Curiosity
AI tools often give polished, confident answers. If users aren’t encouraged to ask “why” or “how,” curiosity can diminish. Without curiosity, critical thinking—the ability to explore beyond surface-level answers—atrophies.
- Dependence on Authority
Over-trusting AI can mimic the effect of blind trust in traditional authority figures. People may assume AI is neutral and correct, ignoring the need to:
- Cross-check facts
- Understand context
- Consider alternative perspectives
- Echo Chamber Effect
AI systems often tailor responses based on user history or popular trends. This personalization can:
- Reinforce existing beliefs
- Reduce exposure to diverse viewpoints
- Undermine the habit of considering contradictory evidence
- Shortcut Culture
When students, professionals, or everyday users turn to AI to write essays, solve math problems, or even generate creative content without engaging in the process themselves, it fosters:
- Intellectual laziness
- Superficial learning
- Reduced problem-solving stamina
- Loss of Metacognitive Skills
Critical thinking involves thinking about your thinking. If AI mediates every cognitive task, users may stop asking:
- “Is this a good strategy?”
- “Am I biased in my reasoning?”
- “Did I miss something important?”
- Blunting Ethical and Moral Reasoning
AI doesn’t have values or moral intuition. Overreliance can dampen users’ development of:
- Ethical judgment
- Social reasoning
- Emotional intelligence
AI is a powerful tool, but when overused or used uncritically, it can lead to mental passivity, confirmation bias, and reduced intellectual resilience. To keep critical thinking sharp, humans must stay in the loop—questioning, reflecting, and occasionally wrestling with ambiguity. The future of work experience in an AI environment is directly related to the knowledge gained and ability to develop critical thinking skills within the AI thinking process.
The fact is that the use of ChatGPT can negatively affect a young person’s ability to think through conflict situations, weigh the alternative courses of action, assess the consequences, and come to a conclusion. This is a process that should take some time to thoroughly evaluate the positives and the negatives and select the course of action that maximizes the good while minimizing the bad.
Does AI Promote Young People Who Can’t Think
I recently read an opinion editorial in The Wall Street Journal by Allysia Finley, a member of the editorial board. She makes some important points in discussing the likelihood that AI/ChatGPT is a game changer for young students and workers. Here are a few:
- Excessive reliance on AI could create a generation of brainless young people unequipped for jobs of the future because they have never learned to think creatively or critically.
- While ChatGPT can regurgitate information and ideas, it struggles to come up with novel insights or analyze issues from different directions.
- The over-reliance on AI/ChatGPT can lead students to rely on typing in information, which limits handwriting of notes. Handwriting movements can be used as a learning activity by stimulating brain activity.
A 2023 study revealed that heavy reliance on AI for writing tasks reduces the accuracy of the results by 25.1%. How does AI write? AI tools analyze huge chunks of existing texts to produce content. While this can make writing faster, it also means the content can end up looking and sounding the same. When writers lean too much on AI, they risk dulling their ability to think originally and expressively.
According to Noupe, a technology publication, in early 2023, ChatGPT set a record by reaching over 100 million monthly users in just two months after launch. While it has some undeniable advantages, this surge in the popularity of AI tools has caused certain challenges as well.
- Dilution of Personal Expression
- AI is all about algorithms, which means it loves patterns. But great writing isn’t just about sticking to patterns—it’s about breaking them sometimes. AI’s tendency to standardize could mean your next essay sounds like everyone else’s. Remember, the most memorable pieces of writing are those that reflect a unique perspective, something that AI just can’t mimic.
- Homogenization of Writing Styles
- And it’s not just your voice that’s at risk. As more people use AI tools, there’s a tendency for all writing to start sounding similar. Think about it: if everyone uses the same tool, doesn’t it make sense that everyone’s output might start to look the same? This doesn’t just stifle individuality; it could flatten the entire landscape of literary styles, turning vibrant variety into boring uniformity.
- Reduction in Critical Thinking
- Here’s a not-so-fun fact: when AI takes over the brainy bits of writing, you might disengage from the process. How does AI affect writers? It’s easy to become passive, watching as the AI assembles your thoughts. This is especially bad news for students, who need to flex their mental muscles by tackling complex writing tasks. Critical thinking is like a muscle—if you don’t use it, you lose it.
- Broader Implications
- When AI scripts the show, the range of voices in literature might begin to narrow. Diversity in writing isn’t just about different themes or genres; it’s about different ways of seeing the world. If AI keeps us locked into a certain way of writing, we might start missing out on those fresh, exciting perspectives that come from real human experiences.
The conclusion is that the impact of AI on professional writing careers looks concerning. Will future writers need to conform to AI standards to succeed? If so, we might see a drop in the quality and variety of professional writing as the push for AI efficiency overtakes the need for human creativity and insight.
Posted by Dr. Steven Mintz, aka Ethics Sage, on June 30, 2025. Steve is the author of Beyond Happiness and Meaning: Transforming Your Life Through Ethical Behavior, which is available on Amazon. Learn more about his activities at: https://www.stevenmintzethics.com/ and signing up for the newsletter.