I think AI is most helpful right up until it starts doing the thinking for us. When the only real work is Control C and Control V, then it is too much. I think the line is crossed when AI replaces the skills we’re supposed to build. If it writes, summarizes, or analyzes everything for us, then we’re not actually learning those processes. Dinsmore and Fryer (2026) say, “there are no shortcuts” to developing knowledge and expertise. That directly challenges the idea that AI can just “free us” to think at a higher level.

I think the biggest gray area is intent. Using AI to check your understanding or generate ideas can support learning. But using it to produce answers and work can replace learning entirely. The tool isn’t the problem, it is the way it’s used.

I think this will matter even more in future jobs. AI can make work faster, but if people rely on it too much, they risk losing the ability to think independently and know how to execute their job. The goal shouldn’t be to avoid AI, but to use it so that it still makes you think.

Dinsmore, D. L., & Fryer, L. K. (2026). What does current genAI actually mean for student learning? Learning and Individual Differences, 125, 102834. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2025.102834