How to use AI without getting dumber, according to a serial entrepreneur

Ryan Deiss, a prominent entrepreneur and the founder of DigitalMarketer and The Scalable Company, expresses concern over the potential cognitive decline associated with artificial intelligence. While he acknowledges the rapid advancements in AI, he believes the greater danger lies in humans becoming intellectually complacent. In a recent post on X, he drew parallels between the effects of industrialization on physical fitness and the risks of relying too heavily on AI for mental tasks. Deiss warns that just as industrialization led to a more sedentary lifestyle, the growing use of AI could lead to a decline in our cognitive abilities. He claims, "The technology that made us fat is going to make us dumb, too," emphasizing the need for a balanced approach to AI utilization. To counteract this potential decline, he proposes a method he calls the '10-80-10' rule. According to this guideline, individuals should contribute the first 10% of any task through their own original thought. AI can then handle the subsequent 80%, followed by humans refining the final 10% to ensure quality and relevance. This notion of reclaiming independent thought resonates with many experts in the tech field. AI researchers and industry leaders have voiced similar concerns, highlighting that over-dependence on AI tools could erode critical thinking skills, making workers less valuable. Mehdi Paryavi, CEO of the International Data Center Authority, warns that excessive reliance on AI might diminish workers' confidence in their abilities. Meanwhile, Anastasia Berg, a philosophy assistant professor at UC Irvine, points out that junior employees who lean on AI from the start may miss out on crucial foundational knowledge. Recent events have illustrated these concerns, particularly when Anthropic’s Claude AI models experienced outages, revealing just how reliant software developers had become on AI assistance. According to Deiss, those individuals and organizations that prioritize independent thought over immediate AI responses will hold a significant edge in an increasingly AI-driven landscape. He concludes, "The advantage goes to people who invest the time to think and process," reinforcing the idea that choosing to think critically will be more important than ever in the future.