Critical Thinking

One of the knocks against AI is that it may erode critical thinking. Really? Like, more than social media? More than conservative talk radio? More than an attention-based economy? More than popular media saturated with marketing messages? And how much "critical thinking" does anyone do? What is "critical thinking?" What good is it? Is it essential for living in today's society? And by "living" I mean "getting by," not in the context of a "good life." Isn't "critical thinking" an élite concept? Something only those people who think they're better than you can do? "If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?" Mark Andreeson is rich, and he doesn't believe in introspection. Is introspection an element of critical thinking? Maybe not, I guess. Most forms of "thinking" are exercises in rationalizing our feelings. Something comes to our attention and evokes an emotional response. To the degree that it may be an uncomfortable response, we summon a "chain of reasoning" that is little more than an…