How AI Is Making Us Dumber (and Lazier) Without Us Noticing

August 27, 2025

We love to joke about how smartphones have turned us into zombies glued to screens, but the real culprit might be even sneakier: artificial intelligence. AI isn’t just changing how we work or entertain ourselves—it’s rewiring how we think, and not always for the better. The more we rely on algorithms to remember, decide, and even create for us, the more we risk losing skills we used to take for granted. Worse, we’re doing it willingly, trading convenience for competence without realizing what we’re giving up.

Remember the last time you tried to calculate a 20% tip in your head? Or spelled a word without relying on autocorrect? What about navigating a new city using just street signs and landmarks instead of Google Maps? For many of us, these small mental exercises have become relics of the past. Why bother when an app can do it faster?

AI doesn’t just assist us—it replaces entire thought processes. Need to write an email? Let AI draft it. Struggling with a math problem? There’s an app for that. Can’t recall a fact? Just ask a voice assistant. The problem isn’t that these tools exist; it’s that we’re outsourcing basic cognitive tasks to them. Our brains, like any muscle, weaken when they’re not used. Studies already show that our attention spans are shrinking, and our ability to retain information is declining. When we stop practicing mental effort, we get rusty. And unlike forgetting a phone number (which we now store in contacts), losing the ability to think critically or solve problems on our own has far bigger consequences.

AI gives us the "feeling" of being informed without the substance (kind of). Need to understand a complex topic? A quick chat with an AI can spit out a summary that sounds convincing—but how much do we really grasp? When we let algorithms digest information for us, we skip the process of wrestling with ideas, making connections, and forming our own conclusions. We end up with the illusion of knowledge: we think we understand something because we’ve read a neatly packaged response, but we haven’t truly engaged with it.

This is especially dangerous for students and young professionals. Why spend hours researching and writing an essay when AI can generate one in seconds? The result might look impressive, but the learning process—the mistakes, the revisions, the “aha” moments—is lost. We’re raising a generation that’s great at prompting AI but struggles with original thought.

AI is a powerful tool, but our growing dependence on it comes at a cost. We’re sacrificing depth for speed, understanding for convenience, and skill for ease. The challenge isn’t to reject AI, but to use it mindfully—to let it assist rather than replace our thinking. The next time you reach for an AI shortcut, ask yourself: is this making my life easier, or am I letting my mind grow weaker?