UKZN–UNIZULU Philosophy Seminar Series, Wed 22 April: Heidi Matisonn, 'Looking forward but falling behind: The ethical imperative to sustain critical thinking in the age of AI'
M. Whitaker
UKZN–UNIZULU Philosophy Seminar Series
Wednesday, 22 April 2026 @ 14h00-15h30
Looking forward but falling behind:
The ethical imperative to sustain critical thinking in the age of AI
Heidi Matisonn
University of Cape Town
Abstract: Artificial intelligence is frequently described as propelling research into an unprecedented future of speed, scale, and predictive power. This description is undeniably accurate: the question is, at what cost? Authors of a recently published MIT Media Lab study entitled ‘Your Brain on ChatGPT’, argue that people who used large language models to help with essay writing gradually showed weaker originality, less recall of their own work, as well as measurable cognitive strain. While AI is sold to us as an enhancer of human potential, it would seem that (over)reliance on AI actually reduces the distinctly human capacities of critical thinking, epistemic humility and intellectual integrity.
Given this, there is an obvious temptation to push for ‘more ethics’ in the form of compliance frameworks, procedural checklists, and technological safeguards. But doing so risks narrowing ethics to the routine specification and application of rules and principles rather than recognising it as a space to contemplate the human condition and our deepest philosophical commitments to knowledge, truth, responsibility, and the flourishing of all life.
In this talk, I will argue that the ethical imperative of our time is not simply to govern AI, but to sustain and cultivate the intellectual virtues that enable responsible inquiry: rigour, honesty, caution, and care. To look forward responsibly requires resisting the outsourcing of judgement to machines and reaffirming the distinctly human practices of critique, deliberation, and accountability on which trustworthy research ultimately depends.
Author Bio: Trained as a moral and political philosopher, Heidi is employed as a Senior Lecturer in Bioethics in the EthicsLab based in the Neuroscience Institute at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. She is also an honorary research associate at the University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
The central theme of Heidi’s work is to think and enact care in the context of the academy. As a philosopher, this means conceptualising and understanding ‘care’ as an essential component of what makes us human. As an academic teacher, this means thinking deeply about how to structure a bioethics curriculum so that students have optimal opportunities for learning and development whilst also being supported to make sense of the ethics of our world. As a bioethicist, it means advocating for the integration of perspectives from care ethics into how we think about and address ethical challenges. It also means working alongside healthcare providers to understand the importance of care in building ethical resilience.
For any queries, please contact:
Gontse J. Lebakeng (Leba...@unizulu.ac.za),
Monique Whitaker (Whit...@ukzn.ac.za), or
Jason van Niekerk (vanNi...@unizulu.ac.za)
Mojalefa Koenane
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ZAPhil" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to zaphil+un...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/zaphil/901b1618-7912-41ff-8497-5c55e84ab9bcn%40googlegroups.com.