While AI increases the speed and productivity of young workers, it may prevent them from becoming experts at all.
That was the warning from Tom Slater, manager at the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and partner at Baillie Gifford, who said that if companies adopt AI too aggressively, they risk hollowing out the pipeline of future professionals.
Unless companies invest in the next generation and ensure they learn fundamental analytical skills, Slater said on Monday’s “Merryn Talks Money” podcast, companies could end up with workers who know how to use AI tools but don’t have the foundational expertise needed to determine whether the output is actually correct.
His concerns echo those of AI researchers and some technology leaders who have warned that overreliance on AI could gradually undermine the very skills workers need to perform and think critically on the job.
Innovation theorist John Nosta said AI is training humans to think backwards by giving sophisticated answers before we fully understand them. AI researcher Vivian Ming said most users rely on AI to think for them, rather than using it to deepen their inferences.
Slater said younger employees have to struggle with difficult jobs. at work To develop expertise.
“You’ll just get better at using AI, but you’ll confuse that with thinking you’re good at the actual subject matter,” he says.
Slater pointed to research suggesting that over-reliance on AI can undermine learning.
He cited an MIT study from last June that followed 54 participants for four months and found that those who used ChatGPT to write essays had decreased brain engagement and often struggled to remember or cite work they had created just minutes before.
The problem, he says, is that while AI improves short-term productivity, it quietly undermines long-term capabilities.
This dynamic, he suggested, could create dangerous incentives for employers. Companies can save money by hiring fewer beginners and relying more on AI systems, but Slater believes that strategy amounts to a “false economy.”
He said “it seems very short-sighted” to allow the current generation of experienced professionals to use these tools to “increase productivity” without thinking about the next generation.
Slater likened the problem to pilots learning how to fly manually before relying on an autopilot system. He said professionals still need to develop deep expertise before AI can truly enhance their jobs.
“The people who will be successful will not be those who make the most use of AI, but those who can think without it,” Slater said.