Dependence on AI causes humans to lose critical thinking skills

SHAH ALAM - Dependence on artificial intelligence (AI) technology can lead to humans losing their ability to think critically and make judgements about certain matters.

Socio-Cultural Research Centre executive director Lim Hong Siang said unknowingly, humans were relinquishing their ability to make choices to technology.

"For instance, when we get used to using a map application to find directions while driving, we may not trust our instincts even though we already know the route.

"Perhaps it's because of past experiences where we got lost due to not relying on the application.

"This shows how we are placing our hope and dependence on technology due to past experiences, which eventually leads to the loss of our instincts," he said.

He said this as a panellist during the Wacana Siri 425 entitled 'AI: Ancaman atau Peluang?' (AI: Threat or Opportunity?) broadcasted live on all Sinar digital platforms on Tuesday.

In the programme hosted by Ismail Adnan, Khazanah Research Institute (KRI) deputy director (research) Dr Rachel Gong and International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) Faculty of Information and Communication Technology Professor Datuk Dr Mohamad Fauzan Noordin also appeared as panellists.

Lim said the AI technology was also believed to be capable of producing literary works in the future.

"AI can be trained to imitate certain writing styles with just the right input or keywords, allowing this technology to write a short article.

"However, AI may not be able to produce masterpieces like novels that depict the societal atmosphere because language usage depicts emotions while writing.

"Perhaps it's not capable yet, but we don't know about the future because the progress and sophistication of AI are beyond human expectations," he said.