AI is giving workers the illusion of expertise - and quietly making them worse at their jobs, researchers say

"AI is putting expertise into our hands in a way that's not always predictable,"

"There's often this illusion that you have more expertise, more skills than you actually do," she said. "Even if you're very well aware you're using the technology, it's often unclear where your knowledge ends and where the technology begins."

"The more you poke holes in it, the more it feels yours and the more you commit to it, and the more you're able to fight for it in a meeting if someone pushes back," she said."

Generative AI delivers ready-made expertise that blurs the boundary between human knowledge and machine assistance. Early-career employees risk missing apprenticeship learning as AI generates initial drafts and short-circuits the struggle that builds skill. Leaders who focus on maximizing AI use can encourage shallow engagement with tasks rather than promoting deep learning and critical reflection. Creative and knowledge-intensive roles face the largest losses as reliance on AI reduces idea development, critical thinking, and the ability to defend work. Workers can feel more productive while errors slip through workflows and underlying capabilities gradually atrophy. The dynamic parallels earlier shifts from search engines but with amplified stakes for long-term competence.

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