Before we go faster: protecting our thinking in the age of AI
I’ve been thinking a lot about AI. I know, me and everyone else. We’ve gone from “What is this?” to “Everyone’s using it” in no time. That’s exciting, but it’s also risky. The big risk isn’t only privacy or bias. It’s what happens to our thinking. If we hand the wrong tasks to AI, too early and too often, we quietly un-train the skills that make us, the humans, valuable: analysis, judgement, creativity, strategic sense, and the ability to see how things connect.
Why this series?
I want leaders and teams to get the best of AI without switching their brains off. I’m drawing on my work in org design, leadership and my studies in how the brain works. The goal is simple: use AI to speed the work, and design our systems so people keep doing the thinking that moves a business forward.
The hype (and the panic)
The hype is loud. Everyone’s talking about AI, rushing to adopt tools to stay relevant, and many are worried about being left behind. I get it. AI matters. But speed without sense is how thinking quietly wastes away.
My stance: use AI to go faster, and design work so our brains stay switched on. That’s how we keep the skills that matter.
Why it matters: the brain rewires with use. If we offload too much, those pathways quiet down; if we keep the “thinking reps” (define the problem, test claims, make the decision), those circuits stay strong and our judgement gets better over time. If we outsource the thinking and assume the AI is right, those connections dull.
Bottom line: treat the model as a fast first pass, not the final word, or your own pathways stop getting reps.
What’s really changing with AI (and what isn’t)
What’s changing: the mix of skills. Tools can draft text and code, summarise long docs, pull facts quickly, keep data tidy, and update multiple places at once. The real value shifts to framing good questions, testing claims, connecting dots, choosing under uncertainty, and learning fast (that’s the human part!)
Not changing: humans still win on judgement, ethics, context and trade-offs. Great outcomes still come from clear goals, good decisions, useful feedback, and teams who can think together. Score one for Team Human.
How our brains actually work (plain english)
A quick refresher so we design work that helps, not hurts.
Attention is scarce. Working memory is tiny. Noise and flashing notifications are built to steal it. Fewer tabs, fewer distractions, better thinking.
Switching is costly. It’s no secret we can’t truly multitask. Micro context-switching chips away at accuracy and energy.
Suggestions feel right. When a tool offers an answer, our scrutiny drops. Make checking a required step, not a nice-to-have.
Ideas need space. Protect focus blocks and take real breaks so insights can form. Back-to-back meetings and constant interruptions do the opposite.
Reflect to learn. Keep a simple decisions note: what we decided, who owns it, the date, and why we think it will work. That “why” is how we get smarter next time.
How we’ll explore this
Across the series I’ll use simple, illustrative scenarios (e.g., a support team triaging 50k tickets) to show what “brains on” looks like in practice.
What this series will cover
Part 1 · Brains On: how to work with AI without switching your thinking off. Five practical guardrails that keep real cognition engaged and reduce the “the tool said so” trap.
Part 2 · The Thinking Modes: plain-English definitions of analytical, critical, creative, strategic, systems and metacognitive thinking, plus short drills to build the muscle.
Part 3 · Brains-On Ways of Working: team practices, rhythms and metrics that protect attention and turn hard work into outcomes.
I’m writing this series because I care about keeping people relevant in the age of AI. There’s a growing body of research on how these tools interact with our brains and our ways of working. Until we fully understand the long-term effects, let’s future-proof our organisations and our people by pairing AI with brain focused ways of working. Faster and smarter beats faster or smarter.