🎮 Level Up – Weekly Drop #08
Why 🧠Thinking For Ourselves Still Matters Even in the Age of AI 🤖
Someone recently asked me — not unkindly, but quite bluntly —
“Why spend so much time on frameworks and critical thinking? AI can apply any model for you these days.”
It’s a fair point. And one I’ve heard more than once.
But here’s the thing: mental models and thinking frameworks aren’t just tools — they’re lenses.
They shape how we interpret situations, spot patterns, and make decisions. AI can mimic the format, but it can’t develop your judgment.
And that, is what will set apart the people who outsource ALL their thinking to AI vs the people who know how to leverage these tools to enhance (not replace!) their critical thinking.
Why We Need To Make Thinking Hard Again
I was reminded of this by a short, powerful video from journalist and thinker, Joan Westenberg.
Some standout ideas from the video above :
AI tools amplify thinking, but they don’t decide what is worth thinking about
We’re drowning in fast answers, when what we need is slow clarity
This (sic) quote hit hardest:
“AI gives us facts without friction, knowledge without context, decisions without deliberation... By skipping the struggle of formulating our own thoughts, we weaken the very muscle that gives us clarity and originality.”
Your Brain On ChatGPT
Along the same lines, a recent June 2025 paper titled “Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task” , researchers from MIT Media Lab and others used EEG, NLP, and behavioral analysis to show that using Large Language Models for essay writing reduces neural network activity , impairs memory, and diminishes ownership - resulting in "cognitive debt”.
ByCloud (A Youtuber who covers the latest AI tech/research papers - check out his channel! ) made a video summary of this paper where he explains via the image below:
If you start with the brain only practicing laying down the neural connections needed for big picture planning and durable memory when ChatGPT (or any LLM) is added, it acts as an AMPLIFIER for your cognitive abilities rather than a substitute.
In contrast, if you rely full on AI, the bridges of the neurons never get built. Therefore once the AI support is removed, the brain stays sluggish and performs poorly.
To be clear - at Level Up, we’re not anti-AI.
AI tools are an amazing enabler for boosting productivity but it’s also a double edged sword as over-use can stunt critical thinking.
However Level Up is about sharpening what AI can’t (and maybe shouldn’t) replace: discernment, perspective, and sound judgment.
Much like the expression - giving someone a calculator doesn’t make them a mathematician - don’t skip doing your own thinking upfront.
Until next time — stay sharp, stay curious, and keep levelling up. 🚀
