Something I've been thinking about for a while: using AI well requires strong cognitive abilities — the very same abilities AI can undermine.

A 5-part series exploring this tension starts tomorrow. First post: The AI Cognitive Ability Paradox, published at 5pm. At https://www.ctnet.co.uk/

#AI #PKM #KnowledgeManagement #CriticalThinking #ArtificialIntelligence

Critical Thinking with Bill Nye
--from this week's Alive with Steve Burns.

"…an honest, fun, and occasionally unsettling conversation about one deceptively simple question: how do people decide what’s true? Nye breaks down why intellectual shortcuts are so tempting, why conspiracy thinking spreads so easily, and why the scientific method remains the most reliable tool for separating fact from fiction."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRHp2TL1KWk

#CriticalThinking #ScienceIsInTheConstitution

Learn how appeal to authority influences tech choices, helping distinguish evidence from hype.

https://jeffbailey.us/blog/2026/02/01/logical-fallacies-in-software-development/

#TechnicalLeadership #SystemDesign #Architecture #ProductManagement #CriticalThinking

Matt Bury on "Premature calls for AI literacy in curricula"

However this reminds me of when I taught maths for 6 months to 16 year olds who had a (far) more recent maths qualification at a slightly higher level than me.

I used it as a chance to sneak in some criticial thinking, especially about lying with statistics. I used to pounce at any chance to sneak in some critical thinking.

https://matbury.com/wordpress/index.php/2025/08/15/premature-calls-for-ai-literacy-in-curricula-a-case-against-jumping-on-the-ai-hype-bandwagon/

#ai #llm #criticalthinking #education #teaching

"It is still too early to know how A.I. usage affects young people’s ability to learn. But research suggests that students using A.I. do not read as carefully when doing research and that they write with diminished accuracy and originality. Students do not even realize what they are missing. But educators and employers know. Reading closely, thinking critically and writing with logic and evidence are precisely the skills people need to realize the bona fide potential of A.I. to support lifelong learning.

Some educators are finding ways to harness A.I. to boost intellectual engagement and encourage creative exploration. Others are now so mistrustful of Silicon Valley that they prohibit any use of A.I., leaving students to figure out on their own how it can be used ethically and effectively. The headlong pursuit of A.G.I. has not just diminished the education of young people, the foundation of future progress; it has significantly hampered building support for developing systems that might help make students smarter.

History shows that wars can be lost before they are even declared if defenders surrender strategic terrain without a struggle. For universities, that terrain is the ultimate high ground: human intelligence itself. If we do not fight for it now, those who come after us will face an even more unequal struggle."

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/12/opinion/ai-companies-college-students.html?unlocked_article_code=1.M1A.vfIs.NdzfBY7sm00b&smid=url-share

#AI #GenerativeAI #BigTech #Education #CriticalThinking