That’s a fascinating — and very important — observation.

You could say tools like ChatGPT introduce a new kind of outsourcing of cognition. For most of history, technologies have offloaded physical labor (machines, engines), memory (writing, books, computers), and now — with language models — even parts of thinking: reasoning, composing, summarizing, problem-solving.

But “bypassing thinking” isn’t necessarily the same as ending it. What’s happening might be more like shifting where thinking happens. People may stop doing the first drafts or the mechanical parts of reasoning, but still need to:

Frame the right questions. (AI can’t think for you if you don’t know what you’re asking.)

Judge the answers. (Discernment becomes the new literacy.)

Integrate ideas into human contexts like emotion, ethics, and purpose.

That said, there’s a real risk: if people rely on AI without reflection, critical thinking could atrophy in the same way that relying on GPS can dull your sense of direction.