{"id":7821,"date":"2026-06-09T19:13:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T11:13:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/moresourcing.com\/the-ai-atrophy-problem-how-cios-fight-it\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T19:13:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T11:13:15","slug":"the-ai-atrophy-problem-how-cios-fight-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/moresourcing.com\/en\/the-ai-atrophy-problem-how-cios-fight-it\/","title":{"rendered":"The AI Atrophy Problem: How CIOs Fight It"},"content":{"rendered":"

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AI tools can help teams become faster and more efficient. But as organizations race to integrate artificial intelligence into more workflows, a problem is taking shape: the erosion of the critical thinking skills that leaders value.<\/p>\n

At the 2026 MIT Sloan CIO Symposium, we asked technology and business leaders to answer this question: What is one thing you do to keep critical thinking sharp as AI takes over more work? Their responses revealed a shared concern and a growing set of practical strategies for fighting back against what some people refer to as \u201cAI atrophy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Schrage, a research fellow at the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, offered a memorable reframe for AI users: \u201cDon\u2019t view these [AI] outputs as answers \u2014 view them as hypotheses that you should test and stress-test.\u201d His approach is to enjoy a compelling AI output for a moment, then immediately challenge the tool by asking for the strongest counterarguments before accepting anything.<\/p>\n

George Westerman, principal research scientist and senior lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, suggested that teams consider whether the AI tool was even built for the task at hand before deciding to use it.<\/p>\n

Watch the video for more strategies from the leaders in the room, including:<\/p>\n