Halldóra Mogensen warns AI is taking over human thinking

Artificial intelligence is becoming more than a simple tool and is influencing how people think and work, Halldóra Mogensen told mbl.is. She warned that people are increasingly outsourcing their own thinking to the technology.

Mogensen chairs the Association for Human-Centred Technology and is an expert on the European Union’s scientific panel on artificial intelligence. She is particularly concerned about AI being introduced into education without clear goals or enough discussion about what it should achieve and which problems it should address.

She said the effects are already visible in the research community. Some people use AI for research and report writing but then struggle to explain or defend their own work, she said. In her view, this shows that AI can affect the thinking process itself, not just serve as another tool.

Mogensen warned against introducing the technology first and assessing its effects later. She said research and data indicate a risk that young people could rely so heavily on AI that they fail to develop their own critical thinking skills.

That could have consequences beyond the classroom, she said, potentially affecting young people’s independence and ability to participate in a democratic society. Mogensen stressed that she was not saying this outcome was inevitable, but argued that clear reasons and goals for introducing AI were needed in advance.

Mogensen recently appeared as a guest on Dagmál, mbl.is’s programme.