AI deskilling is a structural problem (link.springer.com)

A recent paper highlights the structural issue of AI-induced deskilling, where increasing reliance on artificial intelligence tools—like automated decision-making and content generation—risks eroding essential human capacities. The work introduces the notion of “capacity-hostile environments” to illustrate how AI can impede the cultivation of critical skills by diminishing our agency and reliance on personal skills. This structured analysis shifts the focus from individual responsibility to systemic factors, emphasizing that our environments significantly influence our ability to develop and exercise important capacities, such as critical thinking, moral judgment, and creativity. This research is significant for the AI/ML community as it encourages a reevaluation of how AI applications should be assessed, particularly regarding their impact on human flourishing. By framing deskilling not just as a personal failing but as a consequence of the socio-technical environment shaped by AI, the paper calls for concerted efforts to create capacity-conducive settings. Ultimately, it insists that assessing AI's role in society must consider its potential to create deficiencies in the human experience, urging stakeholders to prioritize the preservation and enhancement of human capacities in an AI-driven landscape.