AI and Critical Thinking

 

Socrates
unknown artist
Photo Credit: Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford [CC BY-NC]

As a university lecturer in the humanities, where essays remain a key means of assessment, I am not surprised to hear that there has been an explosive increase in the use of AI. It is aggressively promoted as a time-saving good by tech companies, and wider political discourse only reinforces this view without questioning AI's limitations and ethics.

While AI may be useful in several academic contexts, its use by students to write essays is indicative of the devaluing of humanities subjects and a misunderstanding of what original writing in disciplines such as history, literature and philosophy enables: critical thinking.

"How can I tell what I think till I see what I say?" asked the great novelist EM Forster. He meant that learning to write well, to feel one's way through the development of an idea or argument, is at the heart of writing. When we ask AI to write an essay, we are not simply outsourcing our thinking and its development, which over time will only render us more confused and less intelligent..

In a neoliberal technological age in which we are often obsessed with a product rather than the process by which it was made, it is hardly surprising that the true value of writing is being overlooked. Students are simply taking their cues from a world losing touch with the irreplaceable value of human creativity and critical thinking.

(Dr Ben Wilkinson, Sheffield, The Guardian, 2025)

... for centuries universities have seen themselves as repositories  of knowledge and the truth. This began breaking down when experts were no longer valued, critical thinking undermined and public discourse increasingly polarised.

In this world, traditional sources of knowledge have been increasingly rejected. Books, journal articles and old media are challenged by developments in information presentation and retrieval, most notably through apps and social media. It has led to the "Tinderfication" of knowledge,

Curated reading lists, for example, which academics spend time on researching, highlighting key thinkers and writings, are often overlooked by students in favour of a Google search. If a student does not like what they read, they can simply swipe left. Algorithms can then send students in unexpected directions, often diverting them away from academic rigour to non-academic resources. 

It is important that students have access to learning materials 24/7. But does knowledge become another convenience food? It is available at the touch of a button online, is effectively delivered to your door and there are so many outlets to choose from. There might be quantity, but not necessarily quality: AI is the ultimate convenience food.

This raises fundamental questions about not just what we mean by knowledge, but also what the role of education, and academics, will be in the future. I can appreciate the benefits of AI in the sciences, economics or mathematics, where facts are often unquestionable, but what about the humanities and social sciences, where much is contestable?

We are rapidly losing ground to profound societal changes that could have unimaginable consequences for universities if we do not respond quickly.

(Prof Andrew Moran, London Metropolitan University, The Guardian, 2025)

Critical thinking requires understanding, reasoning and very importantly, independent judgement. Doesn't AI lack these qualities? Does AI challenge its own data, for example?