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

"Back in the day, people didn't need to exercise because the work itself kept us strong. Industrialization changed that. Now we need to work "out" because our actual work doesn't keep us fit. The technology that made us fat is going to make us dumb, too."

"His solution is what he calls the "10-80-10" rule: the first 10% of any task should come from original human thought, then AI can take over for the middle 80%. The final 10% returns to humans for judgment, refinement, and what he calls "de-slopification" - a slang term that refers to low-quality, mass-produced content created by AI."

"Overreliance on AI could dull the very cognitive and independent thinking skills that make workers valuable. Mehdi Paryavi, CEO of the International Data Center Authority, has told Business Insider overrelying on AI may be quietly eroding workers' confidence in their job skills, particularly affecting junior workers who lean on AI from day one."

Ryan Deiss, founder of DigitalMarketer, warns that AI atrophy—not AI acceleration—poses the real threat to workers. Just as industrialization made physical exercise necessary, AI risks making workers intellectually dependent if they outsource all thinking to machines. Deiss proposes the 10-80-10 rule: humans initiate tasks with original thought (10%), AI handles the bulk work (80%), and humans conclude with judgment and refinement (10%). This approach prevents low-quality AI output and maintains cognitive skills. Multiple experts, including researchers and tech leaders, echo concerns that overreliance on AI erodes workers' confidence and independent thinking abilities, particularly affecting junior employees who adopt AI from the start of their careers.

Read at Business Insider