I’ve noticed the rise of AI-enhanced everything, writing, coding, scheduling, selling...
But buried under the hype are real signals that over-reliance on AI might be reshaping how we think.
This study found that users who leaned on AI for decision support became 30% less accurate in detecting flawed reasoning, and significantly less confident in challenging output.
This one showed that professionals using LLMs for repeated tasks saw a reduction in originality by 23% over time, due to gradual alignment with the model’s linguistic and cognitive patterns.
Users exposed to AI-generated content were over 40% more likely to believe false answers, especially when the tone was assertive and fluent.
But I’ve felt it, and seen it up close. People who once questioned assumptions now rely on default answers. Brilliant juniors who used to push weird ideas now offer polished templates.
We’re not just speeding up, we’re reshaping cognition. AI isn’t the issue, passive reliance is.
What helps me rebalance is designing agentic systems, where the logic, the orchestration, the decision paths remain visible and debatable.
In a world of shortcuts, mental sharpness becomes a competitive edge.
How are you keeping yours?