AI-Assisted Cognition Endangers Human Development

Cognition with the help of AI is already a significant force in our world, resulting in humanity-sized missed opportunities and risks. In this article, we will explore the risks of AI-assisted cognition and how to use these tools without falling into the trap of intellectual stagnation.

To understand what AI-assisted cognition is, we first need to understand what cognition is. “Cognitions are mental processes that deal with knowledge. They encompass psychological activities that acquire, store, retrieve, transform, or apply information.”

Cognition can be assisted by external static information (like a book) or external cognition (like a discussion with another human). AI fits into a complex middle ground: they process information to produce original solutions, but remain static as they currently cannot learn in real-time.

As of early 2026, hypothetical geopolitical shifts like a USA threat to Greenland would be labeled as "fake" or "impossible" by AI models because their base training is stuck in the past. Even with post-training, LLMs are skewed toward the static patterns of the base model's hidden states. If a population uses these tools for brainstorming and writing, their cultural and intellectual development will be skewed toward old patterns, resisting new geopolitical and social realities.

Human development depends on the Dynamic Dialectic Substrate—the sum of all dialectic processes and conclusions. AI reduces the cognitive range of this substrate due to inductive bias. If the majority of people consult the same few AI models, diversity of ideas shrinks, leading to a loss of scientific and cultural potential.

To mitigate these risks, users should focus on specific strategies:

• Prioritize human-to-human discussion to maintain cognitive diversity.
• Use a variety of AI models with different base architectures.
• Use search engines to find raw sources rather than letting AI provide the final thought.
• Explore different AI personas to simulate diverse perspectives.

While AI-assisted cognition offers efficiency, we must be careful not to let it narrow the horizon of human thought.