A while ago, I got a message from one of my LinkedIn Learning students. It was polite, well-worded, and crushingly depressing.
They were asking me how to write a prompt for ChatGPT that would let them skip checking the output entirely and just submit the result as their own work. All so they could “save time and look good.”
They clearly hadn’t paid much attention to whichever one of my courses they took. So I guess it’s not surprising they didn’t want to pay any attention to the work they submitted.
I wish I could say this was a one-off, but it wasn’t. It’s a recurring theme in my inbox and in training sessions. And I’m hearing similar stories from others.
People aren’t fighting to protect their jobs from AI — they’re actively surrendering them, one work-avoiding prompt at a time.
So this article isn’t about machines replacing humans; it’s about humans quietly choosing their own irrelevance.
We wanted a productivity tool and got a thinking replacement instead
I want to be crystal clear: AI isn’t inherently the problem here. It’s what people are doing with it — or, more accurately, not doing — that’s the issue.
When you pair a disengaged worker with a tool that promises instant results, you’ve got a recipe for cognitive outsourcing. In 2024, only 21% of global employees were engaged at work. In the U.S., just 31% of employees are engaged in their jobs, with 17% actively disengaged. That means about 1 in 6 employees are actively sabotaging their company’s performance.
If you think that’s bad, let me share the engagement figures for a few other countries:
- Brazil - 34%
- Mexico - 32%
- India - 30%
- Australia - 23%
- Canada - 21%
- UK - 10%
- France - 8%
- Croatia - 7%
Let me reiterate: these are the percentages of people who are engaged in their jobs. The rest are staring out of the window and dreaming of their weekends.
We have a global epidemic of disengagement. So when you hand the average workforce an AI tool and tell them it’ll “do the heavy lifting.” What do you think they’re going to do with it?
Your brain isn’t just there for vibes
Not all work is created equal. Some tasks are mindless, and some are mindful. And some roles have more of one type of task than the other.
AI is fantastic for the mindless stuff — admin, data wrangling, email triage. The things that reduce people to robotic pen-pushers.
But the mindful stuff is where real human value lies. Strategy. Creativity. Communication. Judgement. These aren’t tasks to be automated, they’re tasks to be augmented. Because these are the tasks where human talent can make an impact on the product and the profits.
However, if people just aren’t feeling it, they’ll do the bare minimum. Instead of using AI to enhance their thinking, they’ll use it to avoid thinking altogether.
Skills don’t erode overnight. But they do erode
If you let AI do your writing, your analysis, your idea generation — guess what? You stop learning how to do those things yourself.
There’s even a term for it: cognitive offloading, and it’s been linked to a steep decline in critical thinking ability. One study found a strong negative correlation (approximately –0.7) between frequent use of AI tools and cognitive performance.
Another study on cognitive automation warns of “vicious circles of skill erosion.” The less you think, the worse you get at thinking — which makes you more reliant on tools that think for you.
Of course, I believe the impact of AI tools on your brain is entirely down to how you use them. That's why I teach organisations how to use them to amplify thinking rather than replace it. But left to their own devices, that’s not how many people will use AI. Particularly if these people aren’t invested in their job or their career.
No challenge means no growth. No growth means no motivation. No motivation means no engagement. Before they know it, they’re on a slow slide to professional irrelevance.
You can’t multiply zero
But don’t let me leave you on a miserable note, like a 1980s goth band that has just got a parking ticket.
We all have a choice.
There are people out there using AI brilliantly. Not to avoid work, but to enhance their thinking. They feed it ideas, perspectives, half-baked drafts — and in return, they get broader perspectives, sharper insights, and ideas they wouldn't normally come up with.
They use AI as the third hemisphere of their brain. They use it to take their thinking to new destinations. They use it to add rocket-fuel to their mind.
What’s the magical element that separates these people from rest? Intrinsic motivation.
When you’re genuinely curious and driven to grow, AI becomes a force multiplier. When you’re just trying to coast, it’s a crutch. And like any crutch, over-reliance makes your legs weak.
As one recent study put it: AI used well can build skill bridges, improving job mobility and accelerating learning. But only if you’ve got something worth amplifying.
In this climate, developing actual knowledge and skills is the smartest move you can make.
Disengagement comes from the top
It would be unfair of me to lay all of the responsibility at the feet of the disengaged and demotivated. In many ways, they’re the victims of bad management and poor leadership.
So leaders, this part’s for you.
AI needs really strong leadership.
If you’re selling AI as a productivity hack — a shortcut to wringing more out of fewer resources — you’re quietly teaching your teams to think less, not better.
Want a future-proof workforce? Focus on capability building, autonomy, and engagement, not just headcount efficiency.
High-performing companies are already doing this and seeing engagement rates up to 70%. The rest are about to find out what happens when you automate away meaning and wonder why nobody cares anymore.
Great leadership will use this moment to accelerate ahead of the competition. Poor leadership will passively enable disengagement at their organisation.
Avoiding the issue is as much a choice as engaging with it is. If you don't have enough information to make a decision, your job is to gather that information. The alternative is like trying to save yourself from an oncoming tsunami by looking in the other direction.
Don’t let AI do the thinking for you
If you’ve recognised yourself anywhere in this article, good! You’re not doomed. It's not too late. But the sooner you take action, the better the results.
This is a friendly nudge.
Start using AI to stretch, not shrink.
Ask it to challenge you. Build your skills so you can check and improve the output. Keep your brain switched on and your heart fully charged. Use this tool to elevate your work, not replace it.
Want to hear more from Dave about how to elevate your work with AI? Check out his popular LinkedIn Learning course, How to Research and Write Using Generative AI Tools, for more.
This article was originally published in Dave’s Experiments in Intelligence newsletter.
Dave Birss is co-founder of The Gen AI Academy — a collection of over 30 AI experts offering practical training and advice for companies all over the world. He’s also one of LinkedIn Learning’s most popular AI instructors, with new courses on the way.
Topics: Career success tips
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