Critical Judgement Skills Matter More Than Ever in the Age of AI

Nic Mason, Operations Manager at ACS Distance Education, spoke with the Australian Financial Review to explore this topic further: 

"The AI boom has shone a spotlight on the need for human skills such as critical thinking, creativity, communications, and public speaking", says Nic Mason, operations manager at non-government distance education provider ACS.

As well as specific soft skill courses, such as certificate courses in managing change, emotional intelligence and motivation, he adds, these human skills are taught within all ACS courses in the form of experiential learning or problem-based learning.

Repetition and reflection and the actual learned experience foster these skills, he says, pointing to an ACS computer servicing course. Students are asked to disassemble and reassemble a computer and then explain the process in layman’s terms.

“It seems like a simple enough thing on the surface, but you’re actually having to engage the problem,” Mason says, adding this develops problem-solving skills. “And furthermore, you’re developing your communication soft skills by having to consider the audience that you’re writing it for. You’re developing your creativity and pragmatism.”

Emotional intelligence, critical thinking and communication skills are needed to utilise AI well, he adds, and to avoid what he calls “AI psychosis” – the belief that AI knows everything and can answer every question.

Most online searches are driven by AI prompts, he adds, and many AI users never go beyond the search to the sources. “They’re just taking whatever’s said there in the AI box as the definitive truth,” he says. “The problem is that ethics haven’t been considered in the development and the implementation of all of these different AI programs.”

Read more from the Article: Soft skills in big demand as AI enters workforce

How can we develop our critical judgement skills when using AI?

Developing and maintaining our critical thinking and judgement skills are essential when using AI.  How do we develop and maintain these important skills?

The world is fast paced and people want information quickly.  Stress and pace of life can mean we accept AI without question, but we all need to question AI.

Instead of passively using the information received from AI, actively engage. Pay attention, question what AI tells us.

Verify the information received for bias, errors or inconsistencies. Generative AI can produce hallucinations. This is information that sounds realistic but is actually false. Critical thinking and judgement can help us to recognise these hallucinations.

AI has been trained on current and historical information. This means that some of the information it provides can be biased or out of date. Don’t just accept information that agrees with your opinions. Challenge yourself.

AI is very good at providing us with information quickly. But it doesn’t have the human ability to understand ethics and context. AI does not have morality. This is why AI developers still need to recognise the importance of HILP – keeping humans in the loop. Human intervention is still important for advanced critical thinking.

Most importantly, we need to recognise that AI is a tool, not something to replace human thought.  To develop and maintain your critical thinking and judgement skills –

🤔 Ask why before accepting any answer from AI.

🤔 Check the source of the information. Is it reliable or respectable information?

🤔 Is there any missing information? Is it biased?

Don’t just rely on AI to do your research. Yes, use AI, but also look online, read journals and books, talk to other people, gain relevant experience.  Remember, AI is a tool, but it does not replace our critical thinking and judgement.   Above all, question the information you receive from AI.  If you would like to learn more about Artificial intelligence and critical thinking, contact us at admin@acs.edu.au.