AI can generate and review content in seconds, but it can’t think critically or offer credible counsel. The practitioners who thrive in 2026 will be those who do the hard work themselves.
Ah! Sweet critical thinking! The sine qua non of just about everything that matters. The internet made fact-based regurgitation in education irrelevant; generative AI makes it pointless. My new curriculum would include:
• Mother tongue language, literature, and grammar
• Second language, to appreciate different cultures and traditions and do more than order “Dos cervezas, por favor, Manuel!” when on holiday
• Applied mathematics – particularly applied to finance – statistics, and data storytelling
• Creative expression in any non-verbal format or medium at least once a day
• Coding
• Logic, reasoning, and rationality
• Sports and games, team and individual, as the route to physical and mental well-being
• Meditation, mindfulness, and timeout
• Critical faculty and judgement to develop ninja skills in asking smarter questions
(Didn't; just come up with that on the fly - it's in my 2023 book, Asking Smarter Questions https://asksmarterqs.com)
Mind blown. I cannot for the life of me understand why we'd choose to outsource our own thinking - our actual intellectual capabilites - in this way. For LinkedIn likes? Reducing us to what? Wow. Emperor's Clothes everywhere, my friend
Spot on about the AI summary trap. The triangulation point is crucial, especially when algorthims are essentially learning from the internet's collective biases and then serving them back as neutral truth. I've been running into this alot with recommendation systems in hiring contexts where the 'efficiency' gains end up reinforcing existing inequalities. Reading primary sources takes time but there's no shortcut to actual understanding.
Some days I dip into LinkedIn, see a comment served up the platform that’s breathless and vapid, and dip out. My priority this year is finding time to think. It’s where growth will happen for us.
Ah! Sweet critical thinking! The sine qua non of just about everything that matters. The internet made fact-based regurgitation in education irrelevant; generative AI makes it pointless. My new curriculum would include:
• Mother tongue language, literature, and grammar
• Second language, to appreciate different cultures and traditions and do more than order “Dos cervezas, por favor, Manuel!” when on holiday
• Applied mathematics – particularly applied to finance – statistics, and data storytelling
• Creative expression in any non-verbal format or medium at least once a day
• Coding
• Logic, reasoning, and rationality
• Sports and games, team and individual, as the route to physical and mental well-being
• Meditation, mindfulness, and timeout
• Critical faculty and judgement to develop ninja skills in asking smarter questions
(Didn't; just come up with that on the fly - it's in my 2023 book, Asking Smarter Questions https://asksmarterqs.com)
I’ve ordered the book. Thanks for stopping by, Sam.
In the age of AI critical thinking will become currency
Yes! As I say those who don’t apply critical thinking will be replaced by an AI prompt. Thanks for reading and stopping by and commenting.
Great advice for making better judgments and giving better guidance - regardless of whether AI is in the mix!
Thank you.
Mind blown. I cannot for the life of me understand why we'd choose to outsource our own thinking - our actual intellectual capabilites - in this way. For LinkedIn likes? Reducing us to what? Wow. Emperor's Clothes everywhere, my friend
We live in a culture that celebrates hacks and shortcuts, including cognitive thinking. Thanks for reading and commenting. Happy New Year.
Spot on about the AI summary trap. The triangulation point is crucial, especially when algorthims are essentially learning from the internet's collective biases and then serving them back as neutral truth. I've been running into this alot with recommendation systems in hiring contexts where the 'efficiency' gains end up reinforcing existing inequalities. Reading primary sources takes time but there's no shortcut to actual understanding.
The other aspect of this is that AI flattens argument to serve a homogeneous answer and the authority assigned to sources is opaque.
Some days I dip into LinkedIn, see a comment served up the platform that’s breathless and vapid, and dip out. My priority this year is finding time to think. It’s where growth will happen for us.