or you're just using it wrong...
Most people use AI like a vending machine: you type a question → get an answer→ then move on.
And that’s exactly why AI makes you stupid…
Here's the controversial part:
If your AI answers are “pretty good,” you’re probably asking the wrong way.
Not because you’re bad at prompting—because you’re training the model to stay safe, vague, and broadly correct.
Using AI can be amazing at first—but later, they may experience a weaker memory...
According to Susette Brooks, a marketing director living in Philadelphia, described a “dulling” effect after using AI tools for email writing.
Brooks said she started reluctantly, felt her workload lighten, but ultimately experienced cognitive and creative decline. “I felt my writing and thinking decline as it was happening,” adding that she had “a harder time recalling information and synthesizing ideas.”
When you use external tools to reduce the mental effort needed to complete a task, that's called cognitive offloading.
It's not always bad, it's part of how humans stay productive. But if you keep handing off more and more thinking, you may become less sharp or let skills like writing slip.
That trend is often described as de-skilling - an older economics term that's become a buzzword for the idea that AI can lead to a gradual loss of capability.
The best way to protect your cognitive performance is to first ask whether AI should be involved in that task at all.
Here's how AI can sharpen your mind and boost your expertise:
- Become an "Augmentation User": Use AI to draft task you're already good at make it review and refine it. This builds your judgment and deepens your skills.
- Engage AI as Your Smart Coach: Think of AI as a tutor. Ask it to challenge you with questions, hints, and practice scenarios so you build strong independent problem-solving skills.
- Embrace “friction” for deeper learning: Slow down with AI and ask for multiple options then compare and evaluate them yourself. This builds critical thinking, better judgment, and helps you spot your own knowledge gaps.
Explore what AI tools you can use →
With AI-PRO you will experience a platform where all your essential AI tools are seamlessly integrated.
AI-PRO brings everything together in one powerful, unified experience.
