A staggering 89% of students admitted to using AI tools like ChatGPT to complete homework assignments in a study by Study.com. Research suggests this may not good for their problem-solving skills. (Getty image)
“Hey, can you help me unChatGPT this essay?”
As a student in college who reads and writes constantly in a friend group full of STEM majors (pre-med, engineering, math, etc.), I have been asked this question more times than I can count. Generative AI feels almost magical, effortlessly tackling tasks and becoming an indispensable asset in a busy student’s toolkit. AI tools can summarize articles, generate essays, and even provide personalized tutoring. I must admit, there are moments when I rely on AI. But while AI offers clear benefits, especially for efficiency and organization, there’s a pressing issue that we as a society need to address: Is using AI in education causing us to lose our ability to think critically? The data says yes.
Research shows that overreliance on AI can undermine the development of critical thinking skills. A study from the International Journal of Risk and Contingency Management found that “increased reliance on AI tools negatively impacts problem-solving skills,” finding a sharp decline in performance among study participants who relied on AI the most. This issue demands our attention because, without critical thinking, we risk creating a generation of students who can regurgitate information but struggle to analyze or create new ideas.
Shortcut learning, where students use AI to bypass difficult tasks, is becoming more common. In a New York Times piece, Leila Wheless, a North Carolina teacher, noted that “cheating with AI is rampant” in her classes. Her goal is to remind students, “Yes, you’re going to struggle, but you’re going to feel good at the end of it.” It is true. Instead of grappling with challenging readings or formulating their own thoughts, many students now rely on AI to think for them. According to a survey conducted by Study.com, a staggering 89% of students admitted to using AI tools like ChatGPT to complete homework assignments.
Is using AI in education causing us to lose our ability to think critically? The data says yes.
Critical thinking is more than just absorbing information; it requires analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing ideas. When students use AI to generate responses or essays, they miss the opportunity to engage deeply with the material. Research from Carnegie Mellon University emphasizes that active learning — where students interact with the content directly — enhances cognitive development and improves long-term retention. In contrast, passive reliance on AI promotes shallow learning, where students remember less and understand even less. The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that, though students prefer passive learning, it results in poorer academic performance than active learning.
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AI’s role in eroding originality and accountability is another concern. As more students turn to AI to generate or polish their work, the line between original and machine-assisted thought becomes blurry. A report from Turnitin, plagiarism detection software used by many universities, finds over 22 million essays produced in the last year contained at least 20% AI-generated content while 6 million contained at least 80% AI-generated content. While AI can refine ideas, overreliance blurs the line between students’ own thinking and AI’s input.
This could have lasting consequences. If students fail to develop original thinking, how will they innovate in the workplace? The ethical concerns of AI-assisted plagiarism are alarming — students risk their integrity and erode personal responsibility. Left unchecked, this trend could fuel widespread academic dishonesty and degrade educational quality.
Rather than banning AI in education though, we should use it mindfully. As international AI experts from the Electronics journal argue, “AI can revolutionize education only when paired with teaching methods that foster cognitive development and problem-solving.” While AI can assist with research, instructors should teach students to demonstrate their idea development process and introduce AI models as “extraherics” designed to guide students with questions and diverse perspectives, rather than simply providing answers.
In today’s educational landscape, AI tools are tempting shortcuts for students overwhelmed by their workloads. However, the overuse of AI threatens the very essence of education: the ability to think critically and create new ideas. If we allow AI to take over our intellectual efforts, we risk losing the human qualities that make education valuable. We need to advocate for policies that enable our education force to wield AI as a teaching tool while teaching students to use it responsibly.
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