AI is changing how we write. Why critical thinking matters more than ever

When double denim and perms were a thing the first time round, cognitive psychologist Lisanne Bainbridge, coined a term that feels even more relevant today: the irony of automation.

The more we automate a task, the worse we become at it. And the more we hand over to machines, the more critical those lost human skills become.

Back then, Bainbridge was talking about aircraft pilots and factory engineers. Now, it’s writers who are feeling the irony.

AI makes writing faster, but make thinking more shallow 

AI writing tools are fast, fluent, endlessly polite and encouraging. But writing isn’t just about getting words on a page — it’s about thinking.

To use AI well, we need to:

• question its claims,

• check its reasoning

• add our own voice and judgement

• and decide what truly matters to the reader.

Those are critical thinking and communication skills. And they’re exactly what we stand to lose, if we stop practising them and let AI do all the work.

The research is clear: thinking and writing are skills we have to protect

• The World Economic Forum lists critical thinking as the #1 skill employers need now and on towards 2030. 

• LinkedIn gave the top spot for most in-demand skill to communication.

• Gartner warns that atrophy of critical-thinking skills, due to Gen AI use, will push 50% of global organisations to require ‘AI-free’ skills assessments through 2026.

• And a 2024 MIT Media Lab study found that participants who used AI to write essays showed reduced neural activity and weaker recall of their own writing.

AI doesn’t just automate writing. It can quietly automate the thinking too, and that’s where the problem shows itself.

You might already see the signs

If you review your team’s writing, you may have noticed:

• a flatness of tone

• generic phrasing 

• it sounding overly formal

• messages that sound polished but don’t say much.

That’s not laziness. It’s the side-effect of cognitive offloading. It’s what Professor Jim Macnamara calls 'the vigilance drop': when automation handles the heavy lifting, our attention, awareness, and expertise start to fade.

This isn't about being anti-AI

The answer isn’t to ban AI tools. They’re brilliant assistants. But they need a thoughtful boss.

We have to keep our critical thinking muscles in use, and that starts with writing.

Writing forces us to:

• clarify our ideas

• test our reasoning

• spot contradictions

• think about our audience

• and make decisions about tone, structure, and truth.

Every time we write, or edit what AI gives us, we’re strengthening the very skills that make us valuable.

Putting the human back in the loop

At The Better Writing Store, we talk a lot about “the human in the loop” — making sure people stay engaged in the thinking and judgement part of writing.

That means:

1. Skills – training people to critique and improve AI-generated content.

2. Practice – giving teams the chance to think on paper.

3. Governance – setting clear standards for what good writing looks like.

These three things keep quality (and humanity) intact. No matter how clever the tools become.

Want to see this in action?

Have a watch of our webinar.

Grandmas feeding grizzly bears: AI, critical thinking and writing

We explore:

• what using AI does to us on a neurological level

• why critical thinking and writing skills are the real future-proof skills

• a few simple ways to make AI-generated writing sound unmistakably human

And yes — what grandmas feeding grizzly bears have to do with it all 🐻