What happens when learners meet AI?
What happens when learners meet AI?
Think of skill development as a road from beginner to expert. You normally start with basic practice, work through tough problems, reflect on what's working, and eventually reach the point where you can handle anything that comes up.
Now AI has entered this picture. Depending on how we use it, we end up on completely different roads.
Use AI too early and you risk never-skilling. You skip the fundamentals and never develop real capability.
Hand over too much and you risk de-skilling. Abilities you once had start to fade.
Copy AI outputs without thinking and you risk mis-skilling. You learn the wrong lessons and build on faulty foundations.
But there's another path. Use AI while staying critical. Question its outputs. Think through the logic. Verify the answers. This is AI-enhanced adaptive practice. AI becomes a sparring partner that helps you learn faster without replacing your own reasoning.
The difference comes down to one thing: who's in control.
The people who'll succeed with AI aren't avoiding it or surrendering to it completely. They're the ones who keep thinking while using AI to compress learning cycles and test ideas faster.
AI shouldn't replace your thinking. It should make your thinking better.
The question isn't whether to use AI when learning. It's whether you're driving or just sitting in the passenger seat.
How are you seeing this play out in your work?
✍ Raja-Elie Abdulnour, Brian Gin, Christy Boscardin. Educational Strategies for Clinical Supervision of Artificial Intelligence Use. N Engl J Med. 2025;393(8):786-797. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra2503232 | 10 comments on LinkedIn