University of Kwazulu-Natal

Why Ai Shouldn T Replace The Rough Draft Psychology Today

Bonisiwe Shabane
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why ai shouldn t replace the rough draft psychology today

Posted August 11, 2025 | Reviewed by Devon Frye I often think of writing as a fairly straightforward act. For me, it's a process of transfer and organization—a way to get ideas out of my head and onto the page. But fascinating research suggests that how we externalize thought can change the very nature of the thoughts themselves, along with how well we remember them. That got me thinking—and writing. This study, published in Consciousness and Cognition, compared two simple tasks that included writing words by hand and drawing pictures of those words.

On the surface, both methods might seem equally effective for learning. But the researchers found something very interesting: Drawing consistently led to better memory performance than writing. As you might guess, this got me thinking about LLMs and typing into that context window as a central tool to our "thinking" these days. Posted November 14, 2025 | Reviewed by Tyler Woods I’ve been seeing and hearing far too many expressions of hopelessness and fear about where the age of artificial intelligence is taking us. A broad swath of the population, including business, political, and educational leaders, is making decisions based on the assumption that outsourcing our thinking, writing, and creating to AI is the irreversible course that has...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis lamented, “It is inevitable that AI will be used to promote various agendas and to expand power for those who are devising it.” China’s Premier Li Qiang observed, “AI is... I’m puzzled by this confidence. Because nothing is inevitable. Not the doom scenario of superintelligent robots taking over the world. And not the hype scenario of a coming utopia born of eternal improvements in every conceivable type of technology. The premise of inevitability is one we need to mindfully reject.

There is certainly a problematic business strategy at work here. Posted February 8, 2024 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch Behavioral health chatbots now provide therapeutic services that would otherwise have required a professional to offer. Woebot Heath’s chatbot Woebot, for example, was granted “Breakthrough Device Designation” by the FDA in 2021 for the treatment of postpartum depression (PPD). The app’s conversational agent (the AI part that allows it to converse in a dialogue) uses Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques while establishing an empathetic therapeutic relationship. Even more groundbreaking and disruptive is the arrival of generative AI and the use of Large Language Models, such as those available from Open AI’s ChatGPT.

The interactive capabilities of this commercially available technology can now be connected to virtual human avatars, enabling real-time conversation and access to general and domain-specific knowledge that was not possible just a couple of... I’ve heard colleagues say that AI will not replace human professionals but will augment what psychologists do. There is nothing to fear, they say. While I agree AI can and does augment what we do, the reality of supplanting psychologists and other healthcare professionals on a large scale is closer than ever. Psychologists perform many roles and tasks, of course, but I think the one most people are considering, and I’m focusing on, is interactive therapy services (i.e., psychotherapy and consultation). I first wrote on this topic a decade ago in an article in Professional Psychology: Research and Practice called “Artificial Intelligence in Psychological Practice: Current and Future Applications and Implications." I wrote then that...

The regulatory, legal, ethics, and safety issues professionals must consider could be worked out. In that article, I also wrote that AI systems could be far superior in their capabilities. I proposed the “super clinician,” an AI system integrating advanced technologies to create all-new capabilities. The super clinician is a highly realistic virtual human simulation with natural language and speech processing for human-like verbal interaction. The system would also have advanced sensors and signal processing capabilities, such as voice sentiment analysis and high-speed digital cameras or infrared sensing, to detect blood flow indicative of heartbeat and thus distress and... The system would also be connected to all other available client data, such as electronic health care records, personal files, and Internet mobile phone use, that it could use to tailor its therapeutic approach,...

The system would be perfect in its interaction, empathetic, and never make an error unless those errors were intentional to make the virtual clinician appear more human-like. Well, the super clinician is entirely possible with existing technologies. Take a look at these systems from USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies. Should you be worried? Updated May 13, 2025 | Reviewed by Kaja Perina Two recent articles point to something subtle but significant unfolding in our relationship with artificial intelligence.

In Rolling Stone, writer Miles Klee critiques the growing presence of AI with a cultural skepticism that’s hard to ignore. He paints it as theater—flashy, convenient, and uncomfortably hollow. In contrast, my own post in Psychology Today offers a different but related view that AI, especially large language models (LLMs), present what I call cognitive theater—an elegant performance of intelligence that feels real,... Klee questions the cultural spectacle. I question the cognitive seduction. Both perspectives point to the same deeper truth that is as fascinating as it is concerning.

I see it almost every day. Smart, thoughtful people become wide-eyed and breathless when an AI tool mimics something clever, or poetic, or eerily human. There’s often a moment of awe, followed quickly by a kind of surrender. This isn’t gullibility, it’s enchantment. And I understand it. I’ve felt it too.

But part of my job now—part of all of our jobs—is to gently pull people back from that edge. Not to diminish the wonder, but to restore the context. To remind ourselves that beneath the magic is machinery. Beneath the fluency, prediction. And that if we mistake performance for presence, we may forfeit something essential—our own capacity to think with intention. Today’s AI doesn’t think in any traditional sense.

It doesn’t understand what it says or intend what it outputs. And yet, it speaks with remarkable fluency, mimicking the cadence, tone, and structure of our real thoughts. That’s not a bug—it’s the design. Large language models operate through statistical prediction. They draw on enormous datasets to generate text that fits the prompt, the moment, and often the emotion of the exchange. Photo illustration by Liz Zonarich/Harvard Staff

Experts weigh in on whether tech poses threat to critical thinking, pointing to cautionary tales in use of other cognitive labor tools A recent MIT Media Lab study reported that “excessive reliance on AI-driven solutions” may contribute” to “cognitive atrophy” and shrinking of critical thinking abilities. The study is small and is not peer-reviewed, and yet it delivers a warning that even artificial intelligence assistants are willing to acknowledge. When we asked ChatGPT whether AI can make us dumber or smarter, it answered, “It depends on how we engage with it: as a crutch or a tool for growth.” The Gazette spoke with faculty across a range of disciplines, including a research scientist in education, a philosopher, and the director of the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, to discuss critical thinking... We asked them about the ways in which AI can foster or hinder critical thinking, and whether overreliance on the technology can dull our minds.

The interviews have been edited for length and clarity. Veasey Conway/Harvard Staff Photographer Human thought is a continuous circle, yet AI is its projected sine wave shadow. They meet in a narrow "corridor" of overlapping projections, not shared minds. The differences reframe how we understand and use AI. There’s an image from basic mathematics that has been resonating with me lately.

If you... Legal. Deadly. Twice as lethal as fentanyl. And still on shelves. This legal drug is killing more Americans than fentanyl.

Still think it’s safe?. AI was utilized for research, writing, citation management, and editing. Testing found elevated levels of a potential carcinogenic impurity in several lots of Prazosin Hydrochloride capsules. AI was utilized for research, writing, citation management, and editing. Sandy Paws Rescue Inc., a foster-based dog rescue in Massachusetts, is highlighting several deserving dogs in honor of Adopt a Senior Month. While the term "senior" might give some adopters pause, the rescue emphasizes that these dogs have plenty of years ahead of them; years they deserve to spend in loving homes rather than waiting in...

GLP-1–based medicines now dominate diabetes and medical weight-loss headlines—but they’re not all the same. Some are approved for type 2 diabetes only, others for chronic weight management, and a few carry cardiovascular-risk reduction claims. Posted June 3, 2025 | Reviewed by Margaret Foley As artificial intelligence seamlessly integrates into our daily lives, psychologists and cognitive scientists are grappling with a fundamental question: How is AI reshaping the very architecture of human thought and consciousness? The rapid advancement of generative AI tools throughout late 2024 and early 2025 represents more than technological progress—it's a cognitive revolution that demands our attention. To understand AI's impact on human psychology, we must first examine what cognitive freedom means.

Drawing from established psychological theory, human freedom operates across multiple interconnected dimensions that form the foundation of our mental experience. Internally, our psychological freedom manifests through four critical dimensions: our aspirations (the goals and dreams that motivate us), our emotions (the affective experiences that color our reality), our thoughts (the cognitive processes that shape... These internal dimensions interact dynamically with external environments, creating the complex tapestry of human experience. This psychological framework helps us understand how AI's influence extends far beyond simple task automation—it's actively reshaping the cognitive and emotional landscape of human consciousness. Posted July 21, 2025 | Reviewed by Devon Frye The ubiquity of artificial intelligence (AI) products has led me to deep consideration of what it means to be an academic, researcher, and scholar.

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Posted August 11, 2025 | Reviewed By Devon Frye I

Posted August 11, 2025 | Reviewed by Devon Frye I often think of writing as a fairly straightforward act. For me, it's a process of transfer and organization—a way to get ideas out of my head and onto the page. But fascinating research suggests that how we externalize thought can change the very nature of the thoughts themselves, along with how well we remember them. That got me thinking—and writi...

On The Surface, Both Methods Might Seem Equally Effective For

On the surface, both methods might seem equally effective for learning. But the researchers found something very interesting: Drawing consistently led to better memory performance than writing. As you might guess, this got me thinking about LLMs and typing into that context window as a central tool to our "thinking" these days. Posted November 14, 2025 | Reviewed by Tyler Woods I’ve been seeing an...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Lamented, “It Is Inevitable That AI

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis lamented, “It is inevitable that AI will be used to promote various agendas and to expand power for those who are devising it.” China’s Premier Li Qiang observed, “AI is... I’m puzzled by this confidence. Because nothing is inevitable. Not the doom scenario of superintelligent robots taking over the world. And not the hype scenario of a coming utopia born of eternal i...

There Is Certainly A Problematic Business Strategy At Work Here.

There is certainly a problematic business strategy at work here. Posted February 8, 2024 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch Behavioral health chatbots now provide therapeutic services that would otherwise have required a professional to offer. Woebot Heath’s chatbot Woebot, for example, was granted “Breakthrough Device Designation” by the FDA in 2021 for the treatment of postpartum depression (PPD). The ...

The Interactive Capabilities Of This Commercially Available Technology Can Now

The interactive capabilities of this commercially available technology can now be connected to virtual human avatars, enabling real-time conversation and access to general and domain-specific knowledge that was not possible just a couple of... I’ve heard colleagues say that AI will not replace human professionals but will augment what psychologists do. There is nothing to fear, they say. While I a...