Is AI Making Us Dumber?
Why the real problem isn’t the tool, but how we think with it.
I get this question almost every single week.
“Is AI making us dumber?”
There are think pieces, headlines, and studies pointing to how people using AI remember less or think less deeply.
It’s a valid conversation, but for me, it’s missing the point.
Because here’s the truth:
AI doesn’t reduce our intelligence, it reflects it to us.
It doesn’t replace thinking.
It reveals how we’re approaching it.
Just like money, it doesn’t change who you are.
It just turns the volume up.
If you’re clear, focused, and connected to what matters, AI will expand that.
If you’re rushed, avoiding the discomfort of refining something, it’ll gladly help with that, too.
It’s not the tool that makes the difference.
It’s what you bring into it.
Why Are You Opening the Tool?
The most important question isn’t how you’re using AI.
It’s why you’re reaching for it in the first place.
Sometimes, we use it with intention, to refine a point, structure a message, or pressure test our logic.
Other times, we open the tool because we don’t feel like thinking.
It’s subtle, but the energy behind the prompt shows up in the output every time.
When the tool becomes a way to skip the hard part, the result feels thin.
When it becomes a way to clarify or elevate what matters, it feels different, like a more precise version of your original idea.
Here’s what that difference can look like:
When it’s escape vs. when it’s amplification:
• Cranking out content just to “stay consistent”
→ Sharpening a newsletter that clarifies your category of one
• Filling airtime on social because it’s been a few days
→ Structuring a narrative to deepen authority or open a room
• Copying someone else’s angle because it’s trending
→ Refining your own point of view with sharper articulation that still sounds like you
The same tool. The same keyboard. But a completely different outcome, based on what you’re actually trying to do.
Friction Is a Good Sign, Not a Flaw
One thing I hear a lot is:
“I tried using AI and the result didn’t feel right.”
That’s not a problem. That’s actually a good sign.
If what comes out feels off, clunky, or generic, it means your discernment is still intact.
It means your own clarity is still active.
That friction is important. It’s not a sign you’re doing something wrong.
It’s a sign that you’re still thinking.
I love that AI gives us something to push against.
It mirrors our ideas back to us quickly, and without ego, so we can see where something’s not quite landing.
That back and forth - putting in a thought, getting a take, pushing back, refining - used to take days or weeks of conversations, rewrites, or mental loops.
Now, you can do that in 10 minutes at your kitchen table.
You’re collapsing time because you have something to push against, whenever you’re ready.
The goal is not to avoid friction. It’s to make the most of it.
That’s where the value is.
What sharpens your voice, strengthens your insight, and makes the work yours, is this.
The resistance.
The refinement.
The decision to keep thinking when the first answer isn’t enough.
How You Feel After Tells You Everything
Let’s talk about the signal that never lies.
Your energy.
After you’ve worked with AI on something, ask yourself:
How do I feel right now?
If the answer is flat, disconnected, or “meh”, chances are you handed over the thinking too early.
But if you feel clear, sharper, and proud of what you’ve created, that’s the signal that you used the tool in a way that actually amplified your intelligence.
Here’s how I use it:
I start with my own point of view.
I ask AI to mirror it back, then challenge it.
I refine it against the counter-arguments, again and again.
I keep what holds up and rework what doesn’t.
What comes out isn’t just more polished.
It’s more “me”.
It’s deeper. Stronger. And it holds.
That’s the version that moves people.
Your Move
Before your next AI session, consider:
Am I here to expand something important, or to escape something uncomfortable?
Am I asking it to support my thinking, or to do it for me?
Does the final result feel like a more precise version of my original thought?
If this gave you a new lens to think about AI and our thinking, please do me a solid - send it to the person you’ve had this conversation with.
I appreciate you!
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