Similar to most people living in 2026 I've been enamored with the amazing things that AI can do. The first time using felt like magic. It felt akin to when I discovered Google existed, unlimited possibilities. With all of the excitement I fear as a society we have not considered all the downsides accompanying this amazing tool. The one that particularly concerns me is the outsourcing of human thinking.

Over the last year, I have found myself using AI to answer all of my daily questions, I've asked it for advice and even validation. I've done all this because it's the fastest and easiest way to get all the answers I need. Generally when something is fast and easy, you are giving up something. In this case that something is the action of thinking.

Thinking is something humans have done since the dawn of time. Thinking accompanied by intelligence is one of the few things that make us unique as a species. Thinking is this amazing ability to generate novelty, consider ideas, and solve problems just by standing in the shower a little too long. Thinking one of the most beautiful parts of the human experience, and we are trading it away for the convenience of fast and easy.

Thinking is like a muscle. If you don't use it, you lose it. As a society I believe we are in the process of losing it. Let me introduce a scenario to illustrate this based off of something I've often heard.

"Oh, I don't email anymore, Claude does that for me."

Person 1 drafts an email with AI. Person 2 receives the email and has the AI summerize it. The person then asks the AI to write a response, and so on. When put like this, it seems kind of ridiculous. We are becoming meat vessels for AI and in the process, we are lobotomizing our ability to reason.

When we outsource our thinking, we are really just letting someone else think for us. Would you ever willingly do that? Imagine you are like, "Hey Uncle Bob from here on out I'll believe, say and do whatever you want." We are already starting to do that. This idea reminds me of the movie Wall-E. Everyone was lazy, fat, and let this AI called Auto call the shots.

As for the solution, I don't really know yet. I have started to take steps to use AI less in my personal life which gives me the chance to think more. I still think AI has its place in the world and that it is an invaluable tool, but it is just that, a tool. It is our tool. Don't become the tool.

Keep Thinking.