"ChatGPT, write a response to this message." Which it does. Which you copy/paste and send. Done.
It's quick and easy to outsource work to AI. But if you make it a habit, you may start to notice that you lean on AI for not just the work, but also for the thinking.
There's a name for outsourcing parts of a mental task. It's called cognitive offloading, and it's extremely helpful in reducing cognitive load and improving your brain's ability to succeed at complex tasks. (We've been doing this for years: in calendars, sticky notes, spelling and grammar checkers, to-do lists, or by just asking the closest person "hey, remind me to...")
But AI makes cognitive offloading different. With AI you can actually outsource thinking, not just memory. In a 2025 study, researcher Michael Gerlich found a significant negative link between heavy AI use and critical-thinking scores, with cognitive offloading to blame (Gerlich, 2025). The heaviest AI users, who also tended to be the younger ones, leaned on AI the most and scored the lowest on critical thinking. Uh oh.
Wait, don't cancel your AI subscriptions just yet. That's not the point.
The fix isn't less AI. It's better use of AI.
Use AI as your assistant: to take over the mechanics of gathering research, outlining responses, summarizing. Use it as a brainstorming partner (it's great for that). Even use it for drafting (with a caveat I'll get to). Giving away some work is good. It can free you up for higher order thinking, which is what human brains excel at.
Here's the caveat: keep the part that's actually you! Keep the decisions. Keep the critical thinking. If the AI produces analysis for you, keep the part where you thoroughly review that analysis and poke holes in it. If the AI produces writing for you, keep the part where you rewrite it in your own voice and from your own place of wisdom.
AI CAN GENERATE, BUT A HUMAN SHOULD ELEVATE.
There's your mantra when you're using AI. Use AI, but keep doing what makes you beautifully human.
(For the record: that's what I did for this post. AI brainstorming partner for the topic, AI research with human review, AI initial draft with AI review and revision loop until it produced a solid output, and then I restructured and rewrote the article. AI saved me time on research and initial structure, but the evaluation, structure, and writing are mine.)