The media portrays AI as being an almost magical solution, and depending on who you talk to, AI is a cure that solves all problems or a curse that signals the end of the world. The movies have not helped the public’s perception of AI either. Science fiction movies often depict AI as being fully sentient beings that suddenly decide humans are inferior and need to be eliminated. When some people think of AI, they are scared of “the robots taking over”.

Others tout that AI is a solution that revolutionizes industries and that AI is smarter than people. Because of this thinking, people are now asking Generative AI for answers to solve problems ranging from homework assignments to advice. Thanks to the rise of Generative AI, AI has become much more accessible for people all over the world. Now, there are so many tools that can generate text, images, and in some cases, video. Therefore, many people are using Generative AI tools every day, and because these tools are so easily accessible, many people can send multiple queries to AI tools multiple times in a day. Whether you want to generate a picture or ask for answers to a homework assignment, there is an AI tool that can help you with your request.

Now, instead of using a search engine to search for information, people are turning to AI tools to get answers. Students are using AI tools to answer homework assignments or write essays. AI offers people a fast and easy solution to generate content and to answer questions. Content creators are even encouraging people to use AI to automate content creation. Instead of writing a post on LinkedIn or Instagram manually, AI tools can generate images, provide captions, and automate social media marketing.

The Rise of AI Overreliance

However, by using AI to answer questions and to generate content, in some ways, we lose some important skillsets because we start to delegate lots of tasks to AI. People are beginning to lose critical thinking skills. Instead of trying to search for answers, people can ask an AI tool. In some cases, people rely on AI for the answers too much to the point that they simply copy and paste the answer that AI gives them. This problem is termed in the industry as overreliance on AI. people tend to over rely on AI versus using critical thinking. Researchers have shown that this is a problem. In fact, very recently, in a paper due to be published in a conference in April 2025, researchers from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University have shown that “higher confidence in GenAI is associated with less critical thinking” [3].

While AI can help people perform some tasks, it shouldn’t be the replacement for critical thinking. In fact, AI can actually make mistakes.

The Fine Print: Why You Shouldn’t Rely on AI

Usually when there is an AI tool, there is a disclaimer that AI can make mistakes, so you should check the answers.

Microsoft’s Copilot has this disclaimer on its website: “Copilot uses AI. Check for mistakes”.  Google’s Gemini has this disclaimer when using the app: “Gemini can make mistakes, so double-check it.”OpenAI has a long disclaimer in the terms of use section stating “Given the probabilistic nature of machine learning, use of our Services may, in some situations, result in Output that does not accurately reflect real people, places, or facts.  When you use our Services, you understand and agree: Output may not always be accurate. You should not rely on Output from our Services as a sole source of truth or factual information, or as a substitute for professional advice. You must evaluate Output for accuracy and appropriateness for your use case, including using human review as appropriate, before using or sharing Output from the Services”.

However, despite the existence of these disclaimers, many people tend to overlook these disclaimers and trust the output of AI. This is a big problem because there have been many occurrences of AI making mistakes.

For example, ChatGPT hallucinated court cases that did not exist in 2023 when a lawyer submitted a brief of precedents to the court in which 6 cases did not exist, and later, when this was discovered, the lawyer stated that he was “unaware of the possibility that (ChatGPT’s) content could be false.” [1]. In another instance, Google’s AI search feature “told some users searching for how to make cheese stick to pizza better to use “non-toxic glue”. It also stated that “geologists recommend humans eat one rock per day” [2]. Of course, it is not recommended to eat glue or rocks despite what the AI search feature says.

Therefore, people should not rely on the accuracy of the results from AI. While AI stands for Artificial Intelligence, this term is somewhat of a misnomer because AI is not an all-knowing intelligent entity. AI is simply an assistant that can get people information or generate content for them based on data that it can access. However, the assistant can make mistakes and can give contradictory results.

It might be helpful to think of AI as an Assistant (that helps gather) Information. AI has the ability to provide mountains of information, but ultimately, a person should sort through that information to see whether that is indeed what they are looking for.

Always check the output of AI tools. Failure to check results could lead to inadvertent mistakes.

How to Avoid Relying on AI Too Much

• Always verify the results from AI – AI can make mistakes.
• Use multiple sources versus relying on one tool – whenever researching a topic, it is important to use multiple sources when looking for information. For example, AI might hallucinate and tell someone to eat rocks, but if you look at other sources, you will find much evidence to counter that claim and state that no one should eat rocks.
• Educate others to increase awareness – It is important that everyone is aware of the necessity of evaluating the output of AI to avoid disastrous consequences.

This kind of innovation happened before as well. Instead of going to libraries to search for information, people started using online search engines. Now, instead of going to a search engine, people are starting to use AI tools. However, whenever you access a source, make sure to verify its information before believing it.

Key Takeaways

• While AI can help people perform some tasks, it shouldn’t be the replacement for critical thinking. In fact, AI can actually make mistakes.
• AI is simply an assistant that can get people information or generate content for them based on data that it can access.
• Always verify the results from AI
• Use multiple sources versus relying on one tool
• Educate others to increase awareness

If you found this article helpful, please share to increase awareness!

References

1. https://www.cio.com/article/190888/5-famous-analytics-and-ai-disasters.html
2. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd11gzejgz4o
3. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/publication/the-impact-of-generative-ai-on-critical-thinking-self-reported-reductions-in-cognitive-effort-and-confidence-effects-from-a-survey-of-knowledge-workers/