Published Date:
January 21, 2025

Is AI Making Us Less Critical Thinkers?

Research shows that AI overuse could reduce cognitive abilities, including memory retention and problem-solving. How should we handle this?
By

AI agents are spreading fast!

​A recent study from Deloitte​ predicts that about 25% of AI-embraced enterprises are either already using AI agents or expect to in 2025.

And by 2027, that number will double, meaning half of enterprises using GenAI will rely on AI agents to drive their workflows.

I believe the next few years will separate those who deploy AI agents intentionally from those who just watch the shift happen.

Which side will you be on? And what will it take to be ready for the wave?

That said, let’s dive into this week’s issue. I have news and inspirations for you to apply AI in your work, team, and organization:

  • “Your AI Team” Updates: ChatGPT Tasks, Grammarly Tracks AI in Your Docs, Google Also Makes AI ‘Free’
  • AI Implementation Case Study: AI-Powered Credit Decisioning Cuts Underwriting Costs by 50%
  • The Executive AI Brief: Is AI Making Us Less Critical Thinkers?
  • Weekly Quick Hits: Perplexity Wants Tiktok US, The World’s Oldest Chatbot, AI Scored Poorly in History, Meta Replaces Mid-Level Engineers with AI, and more.

And other interesting sharings from the ​Lead with AI PRO​ community.

‍

ChatGPT Tasks

You can now schedule actions and reminders with the ​new ‘Tasks’ feature​ (available for Plus, Team, and Pro users). It can deliver scheduled updates directly in emails, reducing the need for external automation like ​Zapier​ and ​Make​.

Find it in the profile menu, or watch a quick tutorial first ​here​.

Grammarly

If you’ve noticed little fingerprint icons in Google Docs with Grammarly extension on lately, that’s the new feature called ‘Authorship.’

Now in beta, it tracks whether text is typed, AI-generated, or pasted, giving users more visibility into their writing process.

It works with all Grammarly plans and is meant to boost content transparency, especially in education. (​Read more here​)

Google Workspace AI

Google is removing the extra $20/month Gemini AI fee from Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and other Workspace apps, making its AI tools free for all users. It includes:

  • AI-powered email summaries in Gmail
  • Auto-generated spreadsheet designs
  • AI-driven meeting notes
  • NotebookLM research assistant
  • Integrated Gemini chatbot

The catch? Workspace subscription prices are increasing by about $2 per user.

This move follows Microsoft's decision to ​embed Copilot AI into Microsoft 365 subscriptions​. The battle for AI-powered office suites is heating up, and Google is betting that broader access will drive adoption.

‍

Lead with AI - Icon

Lead, Don’t Follow—Master AI Now

Are you watching others master AI while you wonder how to start? Take charge with ​Lead with AI PRO​ and become the leader your team needs.

What's included:

  • Expert guidance: Live masterclasses every month to help you integrate AI into your workflow and make an impact.
  • A connected community: Join sub-communities of senior leaders across industries to exchange actionable insights.
  • Valuable resources: Stay informed with 30+ video lessons and cutting-edge research on AI tools and applications.

Over 170 leaders from companies like Apple, Gartner, and Toyota have already transformed how they work with AI. Will you be next?

>> Sign Up Today

Lead with AI - Icon

Visa & Uplinq: AI-Powered Credit Decisioning Cuts Underwriting Costs by 50%

Uplinq, in collaboration with Visa, developed AI-powered credit decisioning technology to help financial institutions improve small business lending. By integrating AI into underwriting, lenders can make faster, more accurate, and more inclusive credit decisions.

  • AI models analyze alternative data sources to assess creditworthiness beyond traditional scores.
  • Machine learning reduces risk by identifying patterns that predict credit performance.
  • Automated decisioning streamlines loan approvals while ensuring compliance.

By adopting Uplinq’s AI technology, lenders have reduced underwriting operating costs by 50%, cut credit losses by 15x, and tripled their business line profitability. This makes small business lending more efficient, profitable, and accessible.

​>> Read the full case study here.

Is AI Making Us Less Critical Thinkers?

A new study suggests heavy AI use might weaken critical thinking.

Researchers at SBS Swiss Business School found that younger users, who rely on AI the most, scored lower in critical thinking than older participants (46+), who used AI less.

It’s because of the process of cognitive offloading when we delegate all thinking to the tools instead of doing it ourselves. AI overuse could reduce cognitive abilities, including memory retention and problem-solving.

Yet, education level mattered more than AI use: highly educated participants retained strong critical thinking skills, regardless of AI reliance. This suggests that AI isn’t the problem, but how we engage with it is.

This once again reminds companies to provide proper training to let teams work effectively with AI, especially in how to evaluate AI outputs and challenge assumptions rather than blindly trusting results.

​>> Diving deeper into the study here.

Lead with AI - Icon

Quick Hits

  • Perplexity acquires Read.cv, leading the LinkedIn rival to shut down, while its team joins Perplexity to enhance design and social features.
  • Perplexity proposes a bold merger with TikTok U.S. in an over $50B deal to keep the platform running amid regulatory threats while expanding AI-driven search with video content.
  • Microsoft begins testing AI-powered Windows search for Insider users, enabling natural language file searches locally on Copilot Plus PCs without an internet connection.
  • Scientists resurrected 'ELIZA,' the world's 1st chatbot with a 60-year-old code, and “it can hold its own in a conversation for a while.”
  • Runway shipped Frames, its latest cinematic text-to-image model, to Unlimited and Enterprise users. The product seems to live up to the hype, at least for early users.
  • AI might not be great for history exams, as this research shows GPT-4 Turbo scored just 46% on a new benchmark for historical questions.
  • Microsoft launches AutoGen v0.4, introducing an asynchronous architecture for scalable multi-agent AI, aligning with Magentic-One to advance autonomous workflows. (Read more here) 
  • François Chollet, AI researcher and creator of the ARC-AGI benchmark, teams up with Zapier founder Mike Knoop to launch Ndea, a startup betting on program synthesis to push AI toward true AGI. (Read more here)
  • In a Joe Rogan Experience episode, Mark Zuckerberg said Meta would begin automating midlevel software engineering roles in 2025, with AI eventually taking over all coding in its apps.‍
  • Apple’s iPhone sales fell 5% in the holiday quarter after AI disappointed, while Chinese rivals gained market share with faster-growing Android devices.
Lead with AI - Icon

From The Lead with AI Community

Every day, Lead with AI members discuss practical ways to benefit from AI in their work and organizations.

This week's highlights include:

  • I shared this piece by Kyle Poyar on how next-gen AI apps are reshaping SaaS pricing from seat-based models to “success-based,” where customers "hire" AI for work delivered rather than "subscribe" for access.
  • Our community has started noticing the ‘CR’ watermark on AI-generated images, as LinkedIn follows the C2PA standard for content credentials.
  • Wendy shared a great take from Scott Brinker on AI agents in the martech layer and who might be the conductor.
Join Us Here
Lead with AI - Icon

If you made it this far, reply and tell me what you'd love AI to take over in your daily workflow.

Also, please forward this newsletter to a colleague and ask them to subscribe.

If you have any other questions or feedback, just reply here or inbox me.

See you next week,

Daan van Rossum - Lead with AI

Daan van Rossum​

Host, Lead with AI

AI agents are spreading fast!

​A recent study from Deloitte​ predicts that about 25% of AI-embraced enterprises are either already using AI agents or expect to in 2025.

And by 2027, that number will double, meaning half of enterprises using GenAI will rely on AI agents to drive their workflows.

I believe the next few years will separate those who deploy AI agents intentionally from those who just watch the shift happen.

Which side will you be on? And what will it take to be ready for the wave?

That said, let’s dive into this week’s issue. I have news and inspirations for you to apply AI in your work, team, and organization:

  • “Your AI Team” Updates: ChatGPT Tasks, Grammarly Tracks AI in Your Docs, Google Also Makes AI ‘Free’
  • AI Implementation Case Study: AI-Powered Credit Decisioning Cuts Underwriting Costs by 50%
  • The Executive AI Brief: Is AI Making Us Less Critical Thinkers?
  • Weekly Quick Hits: Perplexity Wants Tiktok US, The World’s Oldest Chatbot, AI Scored Poorly in History, Meta Replaces Mid-Level Engineers with AI, and more.

And other interesting sharings from the ​Lead with AI PRO​ community.

‍