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A theater critic reflects on his profession at a time when its very survival seems on the line and champions a return of critical thinking.

Critical thinking, once a hallmark of an informed society, is now suspicious, and largely exiled from our libraries, schools and mainstream media.

“You should wait until you gain critical thinking skills. Sixteen, 17, 18, maybe.”

In a February study conducted by researchers from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University, groups of people working with data worked more efficiently with the use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT — but used less critical thinking than a comparator group of workers who didn't use these tools.

In fact, the more that workers reported trusting AI’s ability to perform tasks for them, the more their critical thinking was reduced.