Protecting Human Cognition in the Age of AI
Anjali Singh, Karan Taneja, Zhitong Guan, Avijit Ghosh
TL;DR
Generative AI reshapes human cognition, presenting both productivity benefits and risks to critical thinking, particularly for novices. By anchoring the analysis in Krathwohl's Revised Bloom's Taxonomy and Dewey's reflective thinking, the paper maps how GenAI alters knowledge acquisition, reasoning, creativity, and metacognition, and proposes a Dewey-inspired framework to guide interventions. It argues that AI can accelerate access to information but may bypass deep cognitive processing and diminish metacognitive engagement, especially for inexperienced learners who may engage in cognitive offloading. The work offers concrete design and educational guidelines—such as cognitive endurance, friction, metacognitive prompts, and schema-based tools—to foster active, critical learning in AI-rich contexts and calls for longitudinal studies to assess long-term effects.
Abstract
The rapid adoption of Generative AI (GenAI) is significantly reshaping human cognition, influencing how we engage with information, think, reason, and learn. This paper synthesizes existing literature on GenAI's effects on different aspects of human cognition. Drawing on Krathwohl's revised Bloom's Taxonomy and Dewey's conceptualization of reflective thought, we examine the mechanisms through which GenAI is affecting the development of different cognitive abilities. We focus on novices, such as students, who may lack both domain knowledge and an understanding of effective human-AI interaction. Accordingly, we provide implications for rethinking and designing educational experiences that foster critical thinking and deeper cognitive engagement.