5 Ways To Use AI—Without Surrendering Your Brain

In a world where AI can write your emails, generate your reports and even code your next application, a concerning question arises: Will these tools enhance your thinking or slowly erode it? As a digital forensics expert who’s witnessed technology’s transformative effects across industries, I’m convinced the answer depends entirely on how you choose to implement these tools in your daily life.

AI’s Hidden Human Cost: Cognitive Offloading

When you reflexively ask ChatGPT to summarize an article you could read yourself or generate a first draft without developing your own framework, you’re engaging in what psychologists call “cognitive offloading.” This pattern mirrors what research has already confirmed with GPS navigation: people who rely heavily on GPS develop weaker spatial reasoning abilities over time, showing significant decreases in hippocampal activity and spatial memory among frequent GPS users. I can attest to this firsthand.

Years ago when I started traveling regularly for work, I bought one of the first TomTom GPS devices on the market. It made my life easier right away. Instead of worrying about maps and directions, I could simply follow the turn-by-turn instructions to reach my destinations. Navigation had never been my strong suit, so this technology seemed like a perfect solution.

What I didn’t realize at the time was how this convenience was changing my behavior. Today, I know my “mental muscles” for navigation are atrophied, because, for years, GPS has handled the work of building mental maps for me. I never fully developed that skill myself.

This experience offers a straightforward parallel to how we use AI tools today. When we regularly let AI handle certain types of thinking for us, we might be less likely to develop or maintain those same mental skills ourselves. The question becomes: what cognitive abilities do we want to preserve, and which are we comfortable outsourcing to machines?

The convenience is undeniable, but the cognitive cost is real. Each time you delegate thinking to AI without first engaging with the material yourself, you miss an opportunity to strengthen neural pathways that support critical thinking, creativity and analytical reasoning. Neuroscientists have documented this phenomenon, showing that the brain’s “use it or lose it” principle applies directly to cognitive functions.

5 Ways To Strengthen Your Thinking With AI

The good news? You can harness AI’s capabilities while still developing your cognitive abilities. Here’s how to transform AI from a potential thinking replacement into a tool that makes you smarter:

1. Learn To Be ‘Bored’ Before Using AI

There is neurological magic in doing nothing. Constant stimulation—whether from social media, AI tools, or endless digital notifications prevent our brains from entering their most creative state. Boredom isn’t a waste of time. It’s a critical cognitive reset button.

When we allow our minds to wander, something remarkable happens. The default mode network in our brain activates: a state of neural activity associated with deep thinking, creativity and self-reflection. This is where breakthrough ideas are born. It’s where disparate thoughts connect, where innovative solutions emerge and where our most profound personal insights take shape.

Digital tools and AI, while powerful, interrupt this natural cognitive process. They provide instant answers, immediate stimulation and constant engagement that leaves no room for true mental exploration. By constantly seeking external input, we rob ourselves of the most important conversation—the one happening inside our own minds.

Consider the last time you had a truly original thought. Chances are, it wasn’t while scrolling through social media or asking an AI for advice. It likely came during a moment of apparent emptiness. In the shower, during a walk or while staring out a window. These are the moments when our brain makes unexpected connections, processes complex emotions and generates truly novel ideas.

So how can you incorporate intentional boredom in your life? it is as simple as taking a daily walk and dedicating that time for original thought. No headphones. No music. No digital distractions. Just you, moving through the world, allowing your mind to explore freely. Start by silencing your phone and turning off notifications, keeping it only as a tool to capture fleeting insights. As you walk, let your thoughts roam without direction. A work challenge might suddenly clarify. An article idea could emerge. A creative solution might take shape.

When an insight surfaces, quickly type a few raw, unfiltered sentences in your notes app. Capture the thought exactly as it forms in your mind. No editing. No judgment. Pure, uninterrupted thinking.

Later, return to these notes. Expand on the initial thought using your own cognitive skills. Only then do you invite technology to help refine the idea. Ask it to challenge your thinking, suggest perspectives or point out potential gaps. Remember, you are the creator. Technology is simply a tool to support your thinking, not replace it. Review suggestions critically. Integrate what resonates. Continue driving the idea forward with your unique perspective.

Alternatively, you could set in your mind a problem you are trying to solve. Use that time as a focused session to think deeply on the subject without outside technological assistance. When you get back from your walk, then use AI to refine and test your ideas. Repeat this process for over days or months. You will be surprised at the power of your mind to develop novel solutions and see connections that would never form otherwise.

This approach transforms a simple walk into a powerful thinking ritual. In a world of constant digital noise, you’re reclaiming something precious: the ability to think deeply, creatively, and independently.

2. Use AI To Create Your Own Learning Ladders

Instead of using AI to simplify what you already know, use it to venture into unfamiliar territory with increasing complexity. When learning something new, start by asking AI to explain a concept at a beginner level. After understanding the basics, request the same explanation at an intermediate level, noting new concepts. Work through each new concept before requesting an advanced explanation. Finally, try explaining the concept back to the AI and ask for an evaluation of your understanding. Don’t move on to the next question or level of complexity until you can accurately explain a concept back to the AI.

This creates a personalized learning progression that continuously challenges you to climb to higher levels of comprehension. A business student I know used this approach when studying advanced analytical methods. Rather than relying on AI to summarize complex concepts, he first asked for basic explanations, then progressively requested more sophisticated treatments of the same topics.

He would master each level, working through practice problems himself and testing his understanding, before moving to more complex applications involving multiple variables and real-world conditions. Within a semester, his grasp of these analytical methods surpassed peers who had simply used AI to generate analysis templates without building the underlying conceptual framework themselves. This progressive approach built deeper expertise that showed in his ability to identify subtle factors others missed.

This deeper understanding also dramatically accelerated his career path. While most of his classmates were still applying for internships, he secured a paid analyst position. The hiring manager later told him that what set him apart was his ability to explain why certain analytical approaches were appropriate in specific scenarios, rather than just applying them mechanically. Because he understood the fundamental principles rather than just the outputs, he could adapt his analysis to unique situations where standard templates fell short.

Educational psychologists call this the “zone of proximal development.” Pushing just beyond current capabilities with appropriate support, which leads to optimal learning outcomes.

3. Use AI for Scaffolding And Not Solutions

When facing complex problems, use AI to create frameworks that organize information and highlight relationships without providing the actual answers. Ask AI to create a structured outline of key considerations for your problem or a visual relationship map showing how different aspects connect. Have AI identify the key decision points or critical questions without answering them. Work through each component yourself, using the structure as a guide rather than a crutch.

This approach helps you tackle problems that might otherwise overwhelm you while still doing the critical thinking yourself. Consider a marketing professional tasked with developing a comprehensive strategy for entering a new market. Rather than asking AI to generate the entire strategy, she first requests a framework outlining the key elements that need consideration.

The AI provides a structured outline organizing the challenge into major categories: market analysis, competitive landscape, regulatory considerations, customer segmentation, positioning, channel strategy, pricing models and success metrics.

For each category, it lists critical questions without answering them:

• “What cultural factors might impact product adoption in this region?”
• “Which competitors have attempted similar market entries and what were their outcomes?”
• “What pricing sensitivities exist in different customer segments?”

Using this framework as a guide, she can then conduct her own research into each area, bringing her industry knowledge and company-specific context to the analysis. She might hold workshops with regional experts to answer the cultural questions, analyze competitive case studies herself, and develop pricing models based on her company’s unique cost structure.

The result would be a market entry strategy that reflects both comprehensive consideration of all factors and deep integration with the company’s specific capabilities. When presenting to leadership, she could confidently explain the reasoning behind each recommendation because she had done the analytical work herself, rather than simply presenting AI-generated conclusions.

This scaffolding approach leverages AI’s organizational capabilities while preserving her own critical thinking skills and subject matter expertise. Rather than having AI solve the problem, it simply helps structure the problem in a way that makes it manageable for human analysis.

4. Make AI Your Intellectual Sparring Partner

Rather than delegating your thinking, engage with AI collaboratively by challenging its outputs and using them to refine your own ideas. After forming your own opinion, ask AI to present the strongest counterarguments. Request multiple different approaches to the same problem, then synthesize your own solution. Have AI play devil’s advocate to your conclusions, then evaluate its critiques.

This collaborative approach keeps you firmly in the driver’s seat while benefiting from AI’s ability to offer diverse perspectives. Attorneys have found particular value in this approach.

For example, a trial attorney preparing for a complex employment discrimination case first develops her own case strategy, identifying key arguments, relevant precedents and her theory of the case. Instead of using AI to analyze evidence or case law, she uses it as an intellectual sparring partner to challenge her thinking and strengthen her reasoning.

She begins by articulating her strongest arguments and legal theory to the AI, then prompts: “If you were opposing counsel, what would be your most compelling response to this argument?” This forces the AI to adopt a contrary perspective, helping her see potential weaknesses in her reasoning that confirmation bias might otherwise hide.

When the AI responds with a counterargument, she doesn’t simply accept this critique. Instead, she evaluates it against her knowledge of case law and the specific facts at hand. She determines that while the concern has merit, she can address it by reframing her argument with a slightly different emphasis.

Taking the intellectual sparring further, she asks the AI to play different roles: “As a skeptical judge, what questions would you have about my interpretation of this precedent?” and “As a juror with no legal background, what parts of this argument might be confusing or unconvincing?” These perspective shifts help her refine her approach for different audiences.

For each exchange, she’s not looking for the AI to tell her what to think or to perform analysis tasks. Rather, she’s using it to articulate alternative viewpoints that challenge her to strengthen her own thinking. The value comes from the intellectual friction created—similar to how practicing oral arguments with a colleague helps sharpen reasoning.

The final trial strategy remains fundamentally hers, but it’s more robust because it has weathered thoughtful challenges from multiple perspectives. Throughout this process, she recognizes that while AI may have general knowledge of legal concepts, her specific understanding of the jurisdiction’s local practices, the tendencies of the judge assigned to her case, and the human nuances that influence how evidence will be perceived are irreplaceable.

When the AI suggests a particular line of questioning, she filters it through her years of courtroom experience: “This approach might work in theory, but I know this judge tends to limit this type of examination.” Or when the AI proposes a logical argument, she considers how it will land emotionally with a jury: “That’s technically correct, but it won’t resonate with people in this community given recent local events.”

This approach transforms AI from a research tool into a thought partner that enhances her legal reasoning without replacing it. Her human judgment—informed by courtroom experience, emotional intelligence and cultural context—remains the essential ingredient that turns AI-enhanced legal reasoning into effective advocacy.

5. Maintain AI-Free Time Blocks

Perhaps counterintuitively, using AI to enhance your thinking requires establishing times when you don’t use it at all. Designate your first 60-90 minutes of deep work as AI-free. Complete first drafts of creative or analytical work without AI assistance. Schedule regular “thinking walks” without any technology. Practice recall before looking things up, trying to remember facts, concepts, or processes before checking them.

These boundaries ensure your core cognitive abilities remain strong while still leveraging AI for appropriate tasks. Creative professionals have been particularly proactive about establishing these boundaries. Writers report keeping first drafts entirely AI-free, believing this preserves their unique voice and creative thinking abilities. Many parents have adopted similar boundaries for their children, establishing clear rules about when AI tools can and cannot be used for schoolwork.

In my own home, I’ve developed a deliberate approach with my nine-year-old son. He writes stories completely by hand, focusing on original storytelling without AI assistance. Once he completes a section of his narrative, we use AI together to transform his work into an illustrated comic book. This method ensures he performs complex cognitive tasks independently while learning to use AI as a collaborative tool. By keeping human creativity at the forefront, he is learning to master technology rather than be mastered by it.

AI And Your Brain: From Consumer To Architect

The most powerful shift you can make is from passive consumer of AI outputs to active architect of your cognitive environment. This means deliberately choosing when to use AI rather than defaulting to it, designing workflows that integrate AI at specific points rather than throughout, regularly evaluating whether your AI use is strengthening or weakening your thinking, and adjusting your approach based on observed impacts on your cognitive performance.

The question isn’t whether to use AI. These tools are becoming unavoidable in professional and educational contexts. The question is how to use them in ways that enhance rather than diminish your unique human capabilities.

By implementing these strategies, you position yourself to thrive in an AI-driven world not by competing with machines at tasks they’ll always do better, but by strengthening the distinctly human cognitive abilities that AI cannot replicate: a sense of taste, contextual judgment, creative synthesis, ethical reasoning and the ability to navigate ambiguity. The future belongs not to those who simply use AI, but to those who use it in a way that promotes human flourishing in parallel.