Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how professionals research, write, analyse and make decisions. But as AI becomes better at doing more of the intellectual work around us, another question deserves attention: what happens to our ability to think when we increasingly outsource the process of thinking itself?
Positioning Partners CEO and Co-Founder, Ofentse Rapakgadi, explores this question in her latest opinion article for TimesLIVE, “AI and the outsourcing of thought.”
The article moves beyond the familiar debate about whether organisations and professionals should use artificial intelligence. AI is already becoming part of everyday work. The more important question may now be how we use it without weakening the judgment, critical thinking and intellectual capability that good work still depends on.
Ofentse examines the tension between efficiency and capability. AI can help people reach answers faster, but some of the value of research, writing, analysis and problem-solving lies in the process itself. Those activities do not simply produce outputs. They help people develop expertise, interrogate assumptions and learn how to exercise judgment.
For organisations and leaders adopting AI at increasing speed, this creates an important consideration. The competitive advantage of the future may not belong simply to those who use AI most extensively. It may increasingly belong to people and organisations that know what to automate, what to augment and what forms of thinking remain too important to outsource.
The article forms part of a broader conversation about artificial intelligence, leadership, the future of work and the continued importance of human capability.
Read Ofentse Rapakgadi’s full opinion article, “AI and the outsourcing of thought,” on TimesLIVE.