Critical thinking in the age of AI

If you’ve spent any time on LinkedIn in the past week, you’ll have seen the buzz around the launch of ChatGPT-5. I’ve been experimenting with it myself and, first impressions, it’s a big step forward. OpenAI claims it is the “smartest, fastest, most useful” model yet, promising deeper reasoning and a more “human” feel. It delivers first drafts faster, and with far fewer obvious errors than previous versions. But, that’s exactly where we need to be careful. As AI becomes faster and more accurate, the risk is we trust it more and stop questioning the output.

There’s a road near where I live with a huge sign that says “Ignore your Sat Nav, this road is unsuitable for motor vehicles” because so many drivers have followed the road and got stuck. It’s a perfect reminder that technology isn’t always right. AI is no different. We need to keep our eyes open, use judgment, and remember the fundamentals of critical thinking.

What do we mean by critical thinking?

Critical thinking is the ability to pause and ask the right questions before accepting something as true or fit for purpose. It’s about analysing, evaluating, and applying judgement not taking information at face value.

The Global Alliance Venice Pledge on responsible AI use reinforces this, stating that our responsibility includes “rigorous research, use of trusted sources, due diligence, fact-checking, critical thinking, and ongoing education to maintain professional integrity and counteract the erosion of public trust.” In other words, AI should support, not replace, our judgement and creativity.

Developing the next generation of communicators

The generation entering our profession today will never know a pre-AI workplace. As experienced communicators, it’s our role to model critical thinking and pass on the basics so they understand why a message works, not just how to generate one.

When I review AI-generated copy, I can tell if it’s on point, missing emotional connection, or lacking context for the audience. That skill comes from years of writing, editing, and crucially being taught the fundamentals. Without that foundation, it’s far harder to know what good looks like

A friend recently asked me what to do in a case where a team member. who when asked to draft some website copy. had obviously cut-and-pasted directly from AI.

The easy response would have been to get frustrated or just rewrite it. Instead, I advised her to turn it into a coaching moment: sitting down with the team member and walking through the process of building the copy from scratch. Who is the audience? What do we want them to think, feel, and do? How do we bring in storytelling, so the content resonates emotionally?

Five things IC leaders can do to build critical thinking in their teams:

1. Lead by example. Show your own thinking process in action. When reviewing a piece of work, talk through how you fact-check, adapt tone, and ensure audience fit.

2. Promote a culture of curiosity. Encourage your team to ask questions of AI-generated content, ask Is it accurate and based on credible sources? Does it sound like our tone of voice and meet the audience’s needs? What might be missing that could cause misunderstanding?

3. Create psychological safety. People think more critically when they know it’s safe to question ideas, admit they don’t understand something. Model openness by welcoming challenges to your own thinking

4. Reward accuracy not speed. Acknowledge when team members take the time to verify facts, improve a draft, or strengthen a message’s clarity even if it takes longer. Publicly recognising these behaviours reinforces that accuracy and judgement are valued as much as quick turnaround.

5. Build reflection into the process. After a major piece of communication, debrief as a team. Ask: What worked well? What needed more thought? What assumptions did we test? This reinforces the fundamentals

It’s easy to criticise AI and the lack of critical thinking, but it’s on us to equip our teams with the skills, confidence, and curiosity to use technology wisely and to reinforce the fundamentals of our profession.