Will AI Make Us More Human or Less?

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." — Socrates

This article is going to be a little different in style than my usual—a little more casual, a little more open-ended. Instead of giving a straight answer, I want to explore both sides of a debate I recently had with a colleague. We were talking about AI and whether it will make us more human or less human. My colleague was convinced that AI would make people lazy, less creative, and overly dependent on technology. He argued that if AI does everything for us, we’ll stop thinking for ourselves. I had a different take. I believe AI can make us more human by amplifying our curiosity, creativity, and ability to learn.

How AI Can Make Us More Human

At first glance, it’s easy to assume that AI might take away what makes us human. But if we look a little deeper, there’s a case to be made that AI could bring out the best in us. One of the biggest ways AI could do this is by encouraging curiosity. Think about it—before AI, if you had a question, you either had to dig through books, ask an expert (if you had access to one), or just live without the answer. Then came Google, which allowed us to search for information, but that often meant sorting through a ton of websites to find what we needed. There was still a gap between information and answers.

Today, AI fills that gap by providing specific answers instead of just dumping pages of search results. This shift means we can spend less time searching and more time thinking, which leads to deeper learning and better questions—one of the most human things we do. Also, AI makes us more human by making knowledge accessible to everyone. In the past, learning was a privilege reserved for those who could afford education or had access to top universities. Now, AI levels the playing field. Whether you’re a professor at Harvard or a student in a rural village, you have access to the same information and insights. That’s a pretty powerful shift.

AI also helps by reducing the cost of research. Before, deep research was time-consuming and expensive. Now, AI-powered tools can gather, summarize, and analyse information faster than ever, allowing people to focus on thinking critically rather than just collecting data. This means more people can innovate, create, and solve problems without being limited by resources. Stamping my feet on the ground I said, AI isn’t here to replace human thinking it’s here to support it. If used right, AI doesn’t make us passive consumers of information; instead, it helps us think faster, deeper, and more creatively. It’s like having an assistant who can do the heavy lifting so we can focus on big ideas, complex questions, and creative solutions.

Can AI Make Us Less Human?

Now, my colleague had some pretty strong counterarguments, and I have to admit he had a point.One of their biggest concerns was that AI might make people lazy. If we get instant answers, will we still bother to think critically? When something is too easy, people tend to take it for granted. There’s a risk that instead of using AI to enhance thinking, people will just let it do the thinking for them.

The major issue that he latched onto is that AI lacks emotions and ethics. AI can process vast amounts of data, but it does not have human intuition, empathy, or moral judgment. If we start relying on AI for big decisions whether in medicine, law, or even personal choices there’s a danger of losing the human element that ensures fairness and ethical responsibility.

There’s also the fear that AI could limit creativity. If AI is generating ideas, writing stories, and even creating art, will humans still push themselves to be original? Creativity often comes from struggle, trial and error, and personal experiences. If AI makes things too easy, we might lose that natural drive to experiment and think outside the box. He further argued there’s the risk of over-dependence. The more we rely on AI to do things for us, the more we lose our ability to function without it. If AI were to suddenly disappear, would people still know how to solve problems on their own? That’s a scary thought. (AI isn't going anywhere )

Finding the Balance: AI is a Tool, Not a Replacement

After going back and forth on this debate, my colleague and I came to a simple conclusion (I think I am right though :), AI is just a tool. It is not inherently good or bad it all depends on how we choose to use it. If we use AI as a crutch, it could weaken our ability to think for ourselves. But if we use AI as a partner, it could help us think bigger, learn faster, and create more than ever before. The key is to find the balance to use AI to support human intelligence, not replace it. History has shown that every major invention—from the printing press to the internet—was feared at first. People worried that books would make us forget things, calculators would ruin math skills, and the internet would destroy attention spans. But over time, we adapted and used these tools to improve our lives. AI is no different.

The Future of AI is the Future of Us

In the end, the question isn’t really about whether AI will make us more or less human. The real question is: How will we use AI? If we use AI to ask better questions, expand our knowledge, and challenge ourselves, it will make us more human than ever. But if we let AI do all the thinking for us, we risk losing some of what makes us unique.

The future of AI isn’t just about the answers it can give us—it’s about the questions we continue to ask. As long as we stay curious, AI will be a tool that enhances, not replaces, our humanity.So, what do you think? Will AI make us more human or less? The answer might just depend on how we choose to use it.