There is increasing concern that that artificial intelligence (AI) is reducing human critical thinking and judgement. AI seems to be everywhere we look.
- What are critical judgement and critical thinking skills?
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Why are there concerns about AI and critical judgement?
- How can we develop our critical judgement skills when using AI?
What are critical judgement and critical thinking skills?
Critical thinking are the skills that we use to-
- Understand a situation quickly
- Make an effective decision
It requires us to analyse the information.
When we have analysed the information, we come to a decision or outcome. Making this decision is when we use our Critical Judgement skills.
Critical judgement and thinking skills are important to help the world run smoothly –
- Solving problems
- Finding solutions
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Creating new ideas
- Improving efficiency and productivity
- Preventing problems in the future
Critical thinking and judgement can help us to prevent problems and inefficiencies in the future.
Why are there concerns about AI and critical judgement skills?
Critical thinking is essential for our problem solving and future development. However, there is increasing concern that AI is actually reducing the human ability to think critically and reason verbally.
Studies by Deloitte and RMIT University found that only 7% of people using AI at work have advanced AI skills. Many people over-estimate their skills in this area. They found that whilst workers were proficient in some areas, such as prompting, they lacked critical judgement when considering the AI, especially –
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Ethical awareness
- Risk assessment
- A critical evaluation of the information received from AI.
What does this mean?
This means that people can be –
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Relying on information from AI that includes false data.
- Experiencing the “Search Engine” problem, where they accept the first answer given to them by AI, even if it is biased, inaccurate or unverified.
- Failing to consider the legal and ethical implications.
AI is convenient, but research focussing on secondary school teachers found that 66% of them believe that AI is negatively impacting their students’ independent thinking skills.
This raises concern. Are we in a situation that if people do not develop and use their critical thinking and judgement skills that they will lose them in the future? This doesn’t just apply to students, but anyone who is using AI.
Whilst there are risks, there are also benefits to people who are highly skilled in AI –
- AI can be useful and increase productivity. The research suggests that workers can increase their pay if they can use AI properly and they have high AI skills.
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There are also shortages in the number of workers skilled in AI. This increases career and employment opportunities.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 –
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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?
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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 AI and critical thinking, contact us at admin@acs.edu.au
