Is AI quietly killing our curiosity?

Artificial intelligence can make us faster, smarter and more productive, but only if it doesn’t replace the one human skill every great leader depends on: the courage to ask better questions.

According to an MIT Media Lab study, “excessive reliance on AI-driven solutions” may lead to “cognitive atrophy” and the shrinking of critical thinking abilities. When researchers asked ChatGPT whether AI can make humans dumber or smarter, it replied, “It depends on how we engage with it: as a crutch or a tool for growth.”

Late last year, I was preparing for a high-stakes annual planning meeting with a client. Months of marketing and media data sat in front of me. Audience trends. Donor performance. Budget scenarios. Competitive analysis. I had everything I needed to produce another polished presentation, and like millions of professionals today, I opened Artificial Intelligence.

Within seconds, it suggested stronger headlines, tighter language, better organization and even a more persuasive executive summary. It was impressive. For a moment, I felt the quiet satisfaction that comes from watching hours of work improve in less than a minute.

Then an uncomfortable thought interrupted me.

Had AI just made me a better strategist, or had it simply made me more comfortable and efficient?

The question lingered.

I closed my laptop, grabbed a legal pad and walked outside. Instead of searching for better answers, I spent the next 20 minutes writing nothing but questions.

What assumptions are we making?

What if our competitors are thinking completely differently?

What if the data is pointing us toward the wrong conclusion?

What would happen if we had only half the budget?

By the time I returned to my desk, very few slides had changed, but my strategy had. That afternoon reminded me of something I believe may become one of the defining leadership questions of the AI era.

Is artificial intelligence quietly killing our curiosity?

Not because the technology is dangerous, but because convenience is.

We are witnessing one of the greatest technological advances in history. AI can draft proposals, summarize meetings, analyze research, write code and produce remarkably polished work in seconds. It is already transforming nearly every profession. Yet every breakthrough carries a hidden temptation.

The real risk isn’t that AI will become too intelligent; rather, the danger is that we’ll become too reliant on its cognitive capabilities.

Every instant answer tempts us to stop asking one more question. Every polished response makes it easier to accept the first explanation. Over time, we risk becoming consumers of answers instead of creators of questions. That matters because leadership has never been about possessing the most information. It has always belonged to those willing to ask the questions everyone else overlooked.

History’s greatest breakthroughs rarely began with brilliant answers. They began with courageous questions.

What if we’re wrong?

What are we missing?

Why has everyone accepted this assumption?

What if the opposite is true?

Those questions remain uniquely human.

Ironically, AI can strengthen that ability if we use it differently. I’ve begun changing the way I work with AI. Rather than asking it to validate my thinking, I ask it to challenge it. Instead of requesting solutions, I ask it to identify blind spots. I ask it to argue the opposite side of my recommendation. I ask it what a skeptical customer, an aggressive competitor, or an experienced board member would criticize. I ask it what assumptions would completely unravel my conclusions.

The quality of my work has improved — not because AI became smarter, but because my questions became stronger.

Here are the three habits that have become essential. First, become more willing to be wrong. Use AI to expose your blind spots instead of confirming your opinions. Second, become more comfortable with discomfort. The first answer AI gives is usually the safest answer. Innovation almost never lives there. Push further. Ask for the unpopular view, the ethical concern, the unlikely scenario and the inconvenient truth. Third, make room for reflection. AI excels at speed. Wisdom still requires reflection. Some of my best insights have come after closing my laptop, taking a walk, and allowing the conversation with AI to settle before deciding.

Perhaps that’s the future we should be building. Not one where AI replaces human thinking. One where AI stretches human thinking.

The organizations that thrive over the next decade won’t simply own the best AI tools. They’ll cultivate leaders who ask better questions than everyone else. They’ll reward curiosity over certainty, exploration over efficiency and thoughtful inquiry over instant answers.

Peter Drucker famously wrote in his book The Practice of Management that, “The important and difficult job is never to find the right answers: it is to find the right questions.”  Drucker’s warning tells us immediate answers aren’t necessarily wise. Real learning begins when we remain curious enough to question the answer, challenge its assumptions and ask what may be missing.  

Artificial intelligence may become the greatest productivity tool ever invented. But productivity has never changed the world. Curiosity has. And in an age overflowing with answers, our greatest competitive advantage may no longer be intelligence. It may simply be the courage to be human and keep asking better questions.

Van Mylar, MA, CFRE, CFRM, is a seasoned media and fundraising strategist with decades of experience advancing the missions of faith-based nonprofits, ministries and universities. He holds a master’s in media business management from Regent University and a Certificate in Fundraising Management from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. As Vice President of Client Strategy and Growth at Apex Media Partners, Van helps organizations navigate change with clarity and confidence. During his career, he has partnered with CBN, World Vision, St. Jude, Operation Smile, Feed the Children, Save the Children and In Touch Ministries, transforming bold visions into strategies that drive measurable, mission-driven impact.