Are We Becoming Cognitively Lazy?

As a writer, creating a messy first draft has always been my favorite part of the process. It’s how I do my best thinking.

I have spent countless hours of my life staring at blank pages and fussing over how to phrase difficult ideas. It was uncomfortable and time consuming, but that mental effort is what made me grow as a writer and a thinker. Forcing myself to sit in that space of messiness sharpened my perspective, honed my instincts, and helped me develop a voice that is uniquely mine.

But lately, I’ve been reaching for AI before I’ve had enough time to sit in the discomfort. And my brain is paying the price.

AI creates content far faster than I can on my own. If I don’t pause to think first and do the messy, uncomfortable stuff, AI can produce something for me, but it’s not the same cognitive experience.

AI provides faster answers, smoother first drafts, and instant problem-solving. It’s made it easier to bypass the discomfort of thinking. And while these tools are incredibly powerful workplace partners, they also pose a real danger: the erosion of our own cognitive agency.

To be clear: I am an AI enthusiast. I use it frequently! I truly believe it has improved both my life and my work. But there is a cost.

When you let a tool do your thinking for you, you might be saving time in the literal sense. But you’re outsourcing your ability to wrestle with ambiguity, to make judgment calls, and to stretch your mental muscles.

AI is designed to please. It’s trained on patterns and optimized to deliver what the average user is most likely to want. It rewards conformity and nudges us all toward sameness. That might be fine for summarizing meeting notes, but when it comes to your voice, your ideas, and your leadership, conformity is the opposite of impact.

To stay cognitively engaged, I’ve recently adopted some countermeasures. I hope you’ll consider joining me:

• Resist the urge to delegate thinking. Use AI to check or enhance your ideas, not generate them wholesale. Start with your own messy first draft and then let AI point out the flaws, deepen your rationale and stretch your understanding. Ask it specifically to challenge you, not just affirm you.
• Allow a little discomfort. Take time to reflect before you reach for the AI shortcut. The moments when you’re stuck are often where growth happens and new ideas form.
• Ask yourself, “Is this mine?” When AI generates something for you, look at it carefully before you share it. Don’t just ask, “Does it sound like me?” Ask: “Is the substance a reflection of my own thinking? Or did I just approve what the tool handed me?” If it’s not your thinking, it’s someone else’s.
• Practice solitude. Not everything has to be optimized. Give yourself time and space to think, uninterrupted, without digital interference.

Much of my own thinking on this subject was shaped by the book, “The Comfort Crisis,” which examines the value of doing uncomfortable things and how that’s been lost in our technologically advanced age. I highly recommend it if you’re interested in exploring this topic further.

My own experiences have also led me here! I have found that, when I leverage AI too soon in my thought process, it often steers me in the wrong direction. I have gone down many rabbit holes because something sounded good, but then later I realized it wasn’t actually an accurate reflection of my beliefs and goals.

There’s no doubt that AI is here to stay. It’s evolving rapidly, and when used thoughtfully, it can absolutely augment our thinking. These tools should add to your own mental acuity, not replace it.

We have something AI never will: lived experience, gut instinct, values, and perspective. Those are too precious to be sidelined in favor of efficiency.

The next time you reach for an AI shortcut, pause. Listen to your own mind first. Then use AI to sharpen your own insights.

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