AI tools providing instant answers risk making humans less intelligent

The rise of AI tools providing instant answers to complex problems could make humans less intelligent, according to a new warning from the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

Paddy Rodgers, director of the Royal Museums Greenwich, emphasized that avoiding complete dependence on artificial intelligence is crucial. He warned that relying solely on instant answers risks destroying the habits of questioning and evaluation that drive human innovation and expertise.

Rodgers noted that historical breakthroughs by early astronomers, which are being celebrated in the observatory’s ongoing First Light project, required humans to pursue answers and encounter unexpected results.

He explained that early scientists performed tasks a machine would consider unnecessary, building vast datasets that revolutionized Earth navigation over the next century.

However, AI’s role in advancing modern science remains undeniable. In 2024, Google DeepMind chief executive Sir Demis Hassabis shared a Nobel Prize for using the AlphaFold2 AI tool to predict protein structures.

Similarly, LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman advocates using AI as a collaborative counter-agent to challenge ideas rather than replacing human thought entirely.

Academics agree that AI can be beneficial when used responsibly. A lecturer at Oxford Brookes University noted that AI allows students to focus on self-development, but warned that simply outsourcing their thinking highlights the technology’s critical limitations.

Despite the promise of generative AI, experts are increasingly concerned about “cognitive outsourcing.” Dr. Anuschka Schmitt, assistant professor at the London School of Economics, explained that human-like conversational AI systems have drastically lowered the barrier for people to abandon cognitive effort in work, learning, and leisure.

She highlighted that recent studies show that memory, learning, and competencies are quickly and adversely affected by the use of contemporary AI.

Additionally, Rodgers noted that unlike traditional online tools like Wikipedia, quick AI responses tend to detach users from essential, verifiable sources. As platforms such as Google, TikTok, and X more frequently promote AI-generated summaries instead of traditional search links, the risk of avoiding critical thinking and depending on unverified information becomes more significant.