Self-preservation society: we can’t afford to outsource thinking to AI

A recent Financial Times article had an eye-catching headline: AI forecast to put 200,000 European banking jobs at risk by 2030. 

Another ‘AI is coming for our jobs’ story? Yes. But not just that.

The loss of jobs means outsourcing tasks to AI. 

Outsourcing tasks to AI puts humans in the role of monitor and judge. 

To monitor and judge effectively requires critical thinking skills.  

But we know that using AI can cause those critical thinking skills to atrophy. 

So what must the banks (that analysts estimate could cut around 10% of roles by 2030) do to preserve those skills in their remaining workforce? 

AND build those skills in the junior staff coming up through the ranks?

Answer: proactively train for critical thinking. 

Where critical thinking shows up

Critical thinking is often talked about as something abstract. A mindset. A capability. A soft skill.

In practice, it shows up in very concrete ways:

• deciding what matters and what doesn’t

• questioning whether something makes sense

• noticing gaps, assumptions or inconsistencies

• explaining why a choice was made

• standing behind a decision when challenged.

One way to build critical thinking skills

One of the few places those things reliably leave a trace is in writing.

Writing that reveals what someone:

• prioritised

• distilled

• questioned

• took out

• chose to keep.

Writing is a powerful thinking tool, especially as AI becomes more capable. 

I'm with JPMorgan Chase, but...

In the article, JPMorgan Chase’s co-chief executive of EMEA talks about the importance of people still understanding the fundamentals, like “constructing cash flow models and price-to-earnings ratios”. 

I don’t disagree. 

But I’d put critical thinking and writing skills at the top of the list. Because those are the skills that underpin judgement. And judgement is what organisations are left with once execution is automated.

What the AI era needs is a self-preservation society. 

One that actively protects and strengthens the thinking skills we can’t afford to lose.

💭 Our PONDER course is one way to start.