AI “de-skilling”: What happens when we offload our work to AI? With Brooke Macnamara, PhD

AI tools are fundamentally reshaping how humans learn, remember, and maintain professional expertise, raising concerns about the long-term consequences of cognitive offloading. While technology has historically replaced specific tasks—like map reading or memorization—AI’s capacity to perform complex, expert-level decision-making introduces new risks for skill atrophy. Dr. Brooke Macnamara, director of the Skill, Learning, and Performance Laboratory at Purdue University, notes that skills and knowledge are highly sensitive to practice; therefore, relying on AI to bypass "desirable difficulties" can hinder deep learning. Evidence from medical fields suggests that performance declines when AI support is removed, indicating that individuals may mistake AI-augmented output for their own competency. To mitigate these risks, workers should treat AI as a collaborative tool rather than a total replacement, periodically testing their ability to perform tasks manually to ensure foundational skills remain sharp.