In a recent opinion piece for the Mexican newspaper El Universal, columnist Mario Melgar Adalid poses a provocative question: as artificial intelligence tools become woven into daily life, are we gradually outsourcing the very act of thinking?
The piece reflects on a growing unease shared by educators, writers, and everyday users alike. As AI chatbots and writing assistants take over tasks that once required sustained reasoning—drafting essays, solving problems, even generating opinions—there’s a real risk that people may lean on these tools not just for convenience, but as a substitute for critical thought itself.
This isn’t merely a technological question, but a cultural and educational one. If students and professionals increasingly hand over analysis and decision-making to algorithms, what happens to skills like reasoning, creativity, and independent judgment that have historically defined human intelligence?
The column suggests that the answer isn’t to reject AI outright, but to remain vigilant about how we use it—treating it as a tool that complements human thought rather than replaces it. The challenge, as the piece frames it, is preserving our capacity to think critically even as machines get better at thinking for us.
Curious about the full argument? You can read Melgar Adalid’s original column on El Universal’s website.
Source: ¿Dejaremos de pensar para que lo haga la Inteligencia Artificial? (eluniversal.com.mx). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: Gareth1953 All Right Now, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).