AI won’t replace your thinking—unless you let it. The real risk lies in trading curiosity for comfort.
We’ve always been toolmakers.
At first, we dug with our hands. Then someone picked up a stick. Eventually, someone shaped that stick into a shovel, and suddenly, we were moving more earth than ever before. Tools have always helped us do more, faster and better. But they’ve never removed the need for effort. They simply changed where that effort is focused.
That’s how I see AI. It’s the next tool in a long line of human innovation. Like every tool before it, it can either sharpen our thinking or make us complacent. The difference lies not in the technology itself but in how we choose to use it.
Don’t Outgrow Growth
I’ve spent nearly 30 years working with a unique workforce: incarcerated women who come to us from prison, trained to work in some of the most sophisticated and complex business environments you can imagine. Most people slow down as they age; in many ways, society tells us that’s the reward for a well-lived life. But I’ve seen something very different. For the women in our program, many of whom are in their 40s, 50s, 60s, and older, learning becomes the very thing that gives life meaning. They come to see mental challenge not as a burden, but as a lifeline—proof that growth is still possible, no matter your age or your past. And science backs this up: studies show that continued cognitive engagement in later life is linked to slower cognitive decline, higher mental agility, and even delayed onset of dementia.
I’ve watched women step into our contact centers having never used a CRM platform in their lives. Within months, they manage Salesforce, handle B2B campaign strategy, and navigate enterprise-level platforms for some of the world’s most recognizable enterprise companies. They’re leading calls with executives, analyzing pipeline data, and building trust with global customers. Their brains are fully engaged, often for the first time in years…or even decades.
What changed? The environment did. The expectations did. But most of all, they did. They made a choice–to grow in a way the world never expected of them.
Intellectual Disengagement Is a Choice
Here’s where AI comes in: Like the women in prison who thrived when challenged, we must ensure we don’t lose the drive to think for ourselves as technology gets smarter. Because the truth is, AI can make it tempting to opt out…to let the tool do the work and the thinking.
According to a KPMG survey, 66 percent of employees rely on AI output without verifying its accuracy, and more than half—56 percent!—have made mistakes because of it. It’s a striking reminder of how easily convenience can lead to complacency.
That’s where the real danger lies, not in the technology, but in the subtle shift from augmentation to abdication.
AI is still in its early stages, but it’s accelerating fast. Just two years ago, OpenAI’s ChatGPT was limited to information up to a fixed training cutoff date. It couldn’t browse or update in real time. Now, it can generate pitch decks, pull in real-time research, summarize meetings, write code, and assist in decision-making. The pace of change is undeniable, but so is the temptation to over-rely on it. As these tools get better, the risk isn’t that they’ll take over our thinking—it’s that we’ll voluntarily stop doing it.
Comfort Is the Real Threat
Even in our own business, we’re using AI to speed up repetitive tasks, warm up leads, and generate starter content for campaigns. But here’s the thing: none of that replaces the critical thinking our teams need to actually run a campaign. The women I work with still have to know how to think strategically, sell, adapt, and connect with customers. And if anything, the bar is going up.
As AI takes over the top of the funnel, humans will be expected to operate further down, thinking more deeply, acting more decisively, and building real relationships. That requires a level of cognitive engagement we can’t afford to lose.
I think about how this plays out generationally, too. When I started my career, research meant encyclopedias and libraries. You had to know what to look for, ask the right questions, and follow your curiosity. Today, a teenager can ask AI to write an essay, solve a math problem, or generate a resume in seconds. That’s not inherently bad, but it raises a new responsibility: to stay intentional about how we use our brains.
Because the real threat isn’t that AI will make us stupid. It’s that it will make us comfortable.
Comfort is the enemy of growth. And in the workforce of the future, growth will belong to the curious, the adaptable, and the engaged.
The Future Belongs to the Curious
Leaders have a responsibility here. We can’t just throw AI tools into our organizations and hope for the best. We must consider how these tools can enhance—not replace—our people. That means teaching AI literacy, encouraging experimentation, and reinforcing the value of deep thinking.
It also means resisting the temptation to let AI take over the very things that make us human: decision-making, ethical judgment, creativity, and connection. These are not inefficiencies. They are our greatest assets.
The World Economic Forum has consistently ranked critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity among the top skills for the future workforce. Yet recent surveys show a concerning decline in these abilities, especially among younger workers increasingly reliant on AI tools for basic decision-making.
So no, AI won’t replace your thinking. Not unless you let it.
But if we want to stay sharp, we have to keep showing up. We have to keep asking questions, challenging assumptions, and stretching our mental muscles. Because, like every tool before it, AI will only make us better if we choose to stay in the game.
And as I’ve learned from watching thousands of women defy expectations and build entirely new lives, the capacity to grow never expires. You just have to decide to use it.