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Human Thinking in an AI Age: Will AI make us smarter?
Since Generative AI tools have been released to the public, the impact these tools will have on our cognitive abilities remains unknown. Early work by Kosmyna, et al. (2025) suggests that Generative AI use reduces brain activity with serious costs to recall,
creativity and originality. On the other hand, others argue that these technologies are powerful tools for learning, able to provide personalised and adaptive learning experiences complete with immediate feedback on performance (Zhang and Aslan, 2021). In
this special issue of Human Affairs, we invite short, argumentative, contributions that offer explorations into the possible effects that Generative AI tools could have on our thinking, and how these effects may interface with human flourishing. Does the cognitive
coupling between human and AI bring benefits or cause harms, and if so, to whom? Do these tools threaten critical thought or create the conditions for free thought to thrive? Are the Aristotelian intellectual virtues still relevant in an age of Generative
AI or should they be revised?
We invite extended abstracts of a maximum of 1000 words (excluding bibliography) for submission before 31st of January 2026. All submissions in the scope of the theme will be considered and the authors of selected abstracts will be invited to submit a full
paper of 4000 words (excluding bibliography). Full papers will be subject to peer review and will be published in Human Affairs in December of 2026.
Deadline for Abstracts: 31st January 2026
Deadline for Full Papers: 31st May 2026
Works Cited:
Kosmyna, N., Hauptmann, E., Tong, Y. T., et al. 2025.
Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task. [Preprint] Available at:
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.08872
Zhang, K., and Aslan, A. B. 2021. AI Technologies for Education: Recent Research and Future Directions.
Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence. 2(2021). Available at:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2021.100025
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Dr Kieran Brayford
Keele University, Staffordshire, UK, ST5 5BG
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