On critical thinking and AI
Information today flows from countless sources. More and more of them are “synthetic,” where educational or informational content is generated by artificial intelligence, and AI systems produce text, audio, images or videos with minimal human involvement.
In fact, according to a (not yet peer-reviewed) study by Amazon’s Web Services (AWS) group, and reviewed by the_byte:
“…over half — specifically, 57.1 % — of all of the sentences on the internet have been translated into two or more other languages. The poor quality and staggering scale of these translations suggest that large language model (LLM) -powered AI models were used to both create and translate the material. The phenomenon is especially prominent in "lower-resource languages," or languages with less readily available data with which to more effectively train AI models.
In other words, in what the researchers believe to be a ploy to garner clickbait-driven ad revenue, AI is being used to first generate poor-quality English-language content at a remarkable scale, and then AI-powered machine translation (MT) tools transcribe said content into several other languages. The translated material gets worse each time — and as a result, entire regions of the web are filling to the brim with degrading AI-scrambled copies of copies.”
So, developing strong critical thinking skills is more crucial than ever. Critical thinking empowers us to analyze information objectively, question assumptions, and make well-informed decisions. By honing this skill set, we can navigate the complexities of modern life with more clarity and confidence.
What are critical thinking skills?
At its core, critical thinking involves the ability to think rationally, objectively, and independently. It requires us to step back from our preconceived notions and biases, and to examine issues from multiple perspectives. As defined by the Foundation for Critical Thinking, it is the "intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action."
One of the key components of critical thinking is the ability to identify and evaluate arguments. This involves breaking down arguments into their premises and conclusions, assessing the validity and soundness of the reasoning, and recognizing logical fallacies or flawed assumptions. By mastering this skill, we can separate fact from fiction and make informed decisions based on solid evidence.
How do we master critical thinking?
How to do so? I turned to my friend Perplexity, an AI chatbot, to opine, and I liked the answer (and edited it to ensure I kept the human-in-the-loop!)
To apply critical thinking when evaluating AI outputs, especially in terms of identifying and evaluating arguments:
Break down the AI's response into premises and conclusions. Examine each premise for validity, accuracy, and potential biases or flawed assumptions. This requires checking sources, digging a little deeper, and taking nothing at face value.
Assess the logical reasoning and flow from the premises to the conclusions. Look for any gaps, inconsistencies or logical fallacies in the argument structure. Now, if you’re not familiar with logical fallacies / argument structure, you might leverage AI to learn more. (Learning from Large Language Models can be fast (in terms of responses to your queries), and by checking reputable sources, you can add to your knowledge base more quickly than in using search.)
Fact-check key claims, statistics or data points against reliable sources to verify their accuracy and objectivity. Always get a couple of sources if you’re unfamiliar with those offered immediately.
Consider alternative perspectives, counterarguments or explanations that the AI may have overlooked or failed to address adequately. This is the best possible exercise of critical thinking – and may end up enhancing your empathy as well as knowledge around the subject!
Evaluate the broader context and implications of the AI's argument beyond just the stated premises and conclusions. This can be hard to do, but a great way to do this is to refine your prompts to narrow the arguments through better (more specific) examples.
For instance, if you’re looking into utilities’ energy policies, it may be important to include or exclude EV context, depending on your point of view. EVs are in the news, and might get lumped in with other energy statements.
Apply domain expertise to scrutinize the AI's output through the lens of specialized knowledge in that field.
Easy for Perplexity to say… harder to do, but again, very critical in terms of ensuring you’re doing your due diligence. With the time you can save in brainstorming through smart prompting, you have the opportunity to build more strategic and knowledgeable skills around MOST subjects.Maintain an objective, critical mindset and don't blindly accept the AI's arguments without rigorous analysis and validation from credible sources. AMEN, AMEN, AMEN!
Apply the same (if not more) scrutiny to AI as you would to people
Essentially, we must apply the same scrutiny and critical analysis to AI outputs as we would to any argument or information from human sources. AI can enhance our capabilities, but does not replace the need for human reasoning, domain expertise and critical evaluation skills.
Another crucial aspect of critical thinking is the ability to think creatively and "outside the box." This involves generating novel ideas, considering alternative solutions, and challenging conventional wisdom. By embracing divergent thinking, we can approach problems from fresh angles and uncover innovative solutions. (This is one of my very favorite aspects that happen to come naturally to some people, but not everyone. Another great reason to keep using AI tools to help you brainstorm!)
Effective communication is also an essential element of critical thinking. Clear and concise expression of ideas, both verbally and in writing, is vital for conveying complex thoughts and persuading others.
Additionally, active listening and the ability to understand and evaluate others' perspectives are crucial for engaging in productive discourse and collaborative problem-solving. Active listening can also happen online - active reading / active consuming / active questioning…
This critical and imperative skill just might transform our world. Again.
Developing critical thinking skills is a journey that can start at any time – and is more critical every day – that requires practice and dedication. (I wish I had a lifelong dedication to critical thinking. For me, it was awakened at the advent of social media. And it come in very handy with AI, since many of the algorithms behind AI are those same algorithms that have driven social media results - largely feeding our fractured societies.)
One effective strategy is to actively seek out diverse perspectives and engage in respectful debates or discussions. By exposing ourselves to different viewpoints and challenging our own assumptions, we can broaden our understanding and sharpen our analytical abilities. (In this statement, my friend Perplexity is clearly disconnected from the human condition in much of the world today. Which is so very unfortunate, and I’m leaving the statement in situ so we all consider the wisdom of the statement.)
Another valuable approach is to cultivate intellectual humility – the recognition that our knowledge is limited and that we may hold biases or misconceptions. We often criticize AI for bias. And it’s a fact that each of us holds our own biases dear. A more intellectually humble mindset encourages us to remain open to new information and to continually question and refine our beliefs and opinions.
By cultivating our ability to think rationally, objectively, and creatively, we can make well-informed decisions, solve complex problems, and actively contribute to tackling bigger issues in conjunction with our AI-augmented tools.
Resources from AIGG on your AI Journey
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