Does AI Damage Children's Critical Thoughts? Psychologist Reveals Shocking Facts

JAKARTA - In an increasingly automated digital era, the presence of technology such as artificial intelligence (AI) brings indisputable promises of convenience, ranging from writing school assignments to preparing articles quickly. However, the question arises: Does that convenience actually dampen your child's critical thinking skills?

An article entitled 'Is AI Ruining Your Kid's Critical Thinking?' quoted from the Psychology Today page on Friday, October 24, raises concerns that excessive dependence on AI could erode analytical skills and problem solving that should actually be nurtured early on.

The author and journalist with an organizational psychological background, Ali Shehab, highlighted the cognitive offline' phenomenon, namely the tendency of humans to leave the process of thinking to machines or AI software. When children ask too often for AI to answer questions or complete tasks without going through a process of self-thinking. What happens is the weak development of analytical, evaluative, and reflective capabilities.

Furthermore, AI often provides answers that seem convincing but may not be accurate or biased. So it requires that users have the skills to evaluate, question, and draw their own conclusions. When that part is missed, critical quality of thinking can decrease.

In the school environment and home, the impact begins to appear. Children who are used to asking for answers to AI often miss important processes such as collecting data, making hypotheses, having mistakes, then fixing them. This iteration process encourages deep understanding and critical thinking skills.

On the other hand, if AI is positioned as a non-substitute tool, children can actually learn to take advantage of technology, but they still have to be trained to choose, sort, and criticize information so that they do not just imitate ready-to-use answers.

AI technology cannot and should not be used as 'enemy' in education. But like a sharp tool, how you use it that determines it as a support or as a scapegoat for thinking setbacks. If our children are used to handing their brains' on machines, then they risk losing their mental muscles specifically for questioning, evaluating, and creating their own.

On the other hand, if AI is used as an honing partner, not replacing, then their critical thinking future can be strong. Hopefully your parents, teachers, and children find a wise balance so that the next generation is not only smart in technology, but also mature in their minds.