AI Assistance and Critical Thinking

Critical Insights for Activists

The Privacy-Fear Gap:: 80% of students are deeply concerned about cybersecurity and misinformation, even if they aren\'t worried about AI "surpassing" human intelligence.
The "Therapist" of Last Resort:: AI chatbots like Woebot have shown a significant reduction in depression and anxiety symptoms for those with no other outlets.
Creativity and Reliance:: Over-reliance on generative AI may "flatten" creative problem-solving by providing the path of least resistance for cognitive tasks.
AI as an Emotional Anchor:: Users are beginning to rely on AI for primary emotional support, creating a digital dependency that current regulations are not prepared for.

The Cognitive Cost of Assistance:: Long-term research is needed on how AI writing assistants impact a student\'s ability to think critically without help.
Causality in Anxiety:: We need to determine if AI use causes social isolation or if isolated individuals simply turn to AI as a substitute.

Fitzpatrick, K. K., Darcy, A., & Vierhile, M. (2017). Delivering Cognitive Behavior Therapy to Young Adults Using a Fully Automated Conversational Agent (Woebot). *JMIR Mental Health*, 4(2).
Siddals, S., Torous, J., & Coxon, A. (2024). "It happened to be the perfect thing": Experiences of generative AI chatbots for mental health. *NPJ Mental Health Research*, 3(1).
Yarovenko, H., et al. (2024). The future of artificial intelligence: Fear, hope or indifference? *Human Technology*, 20(3), 611--639.