JOSUGA: JOS JOURNAL OF HUMANITIES

The swift incorporation of artificial intelligence (AI) into diverse fields has generated substantial philosophical discussion concerning its influence on critical thinking. This essay examines, from a philosophical standpoint, how AI affects human cognitive functions, especially the ability to reason critically. By automating decision-making, redefining intellectual autonomy, and influencing information access, it investigates whether AI strengthens or weakens critical thinking, drawing on theories of epistemology and cognitive philosophy. Although AI systems increase productivity and offer extensive data processing capabilities, the study contends that they also run the risk of encouraging cognitive complacency, reducing reflective judgment, and reinforcing algorithmic biases. Conversely, by making it easier to access a variety of viewpoints and enabling sophisticated problem-solving, AI can be used as a tool to improve critical thinking. This ethical reflection highlights the necessity of ethical AI design and pedagogical strategies to ensure AI supports, rather than replaces, robust critical thinking in human cognition through a synthesis of philosophical frameworks, including Dewey's reflective thinking and Kantian notions of rationality. 

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