Critical Thinking and AI

Brennan Jacoby

Recording: YesLanguage: EnglishDuration: 45 min / 15 minSession rating: 4.4/5 from 181 participants
Critical Thinking and AI

This one runs as an interactive workshop: the hour includes exercises your colleagues do themselves, not only a talk.

Session Summary

The World Economic Forum has called critical thinking "the one skill we all need in the age of AI”. Some interpret such claims as cautionary assertions meant to galvanize professional scepticism in response to AI’s limitations (e.g. hallucinations, confirmation bias and privacy concerns).

But re-sharpening critical thinking skills can also unlock potential when it comes to best practice in the AI age. Systematically checking your thinking and the thinking carried out by tech has the power to differentiate the value you bring to your work.

It can support efficiency and expand your effectiveness. The trick is knowing how and when to think with AI. In this session, we will do two main things. First, we will develop a more nuanced understanding of the distinct strengths and limitations of both AI and ourselves when it comes to thinking (i.e. analysing information, generating knowledge and developing wisdom).

Secondly, we will pick up pragmatic tools for practicing critical thinking at three key interactions with AI: how we conceptualise the value of AI; how we engineer prompts; and how we assess the quality of AI output.Participants will leave this session with more confidence about how to strategically leverage AI while maintaining excellence in their work.

Detailed session description

The World Economic Forum has called critical thinking "the one skill we all need in the age of AI”. Some interpret such claims as cautionary assertions meant to galvanize professional scepticism in response to AI’s limitations (e.g. hallucinations, confirmation bias and privacy concerns).

But re-sharpening critical thinking skills can also unlock potential when it comes to best practice in the AI age. Systematically checking your thinking and the thinking carried out by tech has the power to differentiate the value you bring to your work.

It can support efficiency and expand your effectiveness. The trick is knowing how and when to think with AI. In this session, we will do two main things. First, we will develop a more nuanced understanding of the distinct strengths and limitations of both AI and ourselves when it comes to thinking (i.e. analysing information, generating knowledge and developing wisdom).

Secondly, we will pick up pragmatic tools for practicing critical thinking at three key interactions with AI: how we conceptualise the value of AI; how we engineer prompts; and how we assess the quality of AI output. Participants will leave this session with more confidence about how to strategically leverage AI while maintaining excellence in their work.

According to participants

What people said afterwards.

From the survey every participant gets when the session ends, in their own words.

It was a very informative talk - it was well structured, well presented and easy to follow. I’ve learned to PAUSE when using AI and it was cool to learn about neural mapping.
In answer to “What have you learned?”
It brought back some old forgotten tools learned from Mindfullness and Six Sigma courses. It was a great hour of learning. Thank you.
In answer to “What have you learned?”
Very good effective hour, thank you
In answer to “Any other feedback?”
Great insights, and loved the interaction with Menti :)
In answer to “What have you learned?”
IA is a multiplier and useful framework to practice and develop critical thinking. Amazing session.
In answer to “What have you learned?”
Before you book

Questions about Critical Thinking and AI

Is this session interactive, or do people just watch?

It is interactive, and the block above says exactly how for this session. Nobody has to speak up who does not want to: the chat and the polls carry most of it, and the questions can come in anonymously.

Is this for beginners or for people who already know the subject?

The World Economic Forum has called critical thinking "the one skill we all need in the age of AI”. Some interpret such claims as cautionary assertions meant to galvanize professional scepticism in response to AI’s limitations (e.g. It is built for a general working audience: no prior knowledge is assumed, and people who already know the subject get the research and the practical side rather than an introduction.

Is this a workshop or a talk?

A workshop. The description of this session says so itself: the hour includes exercises and activities that participants do, not only an expert speaking. It still runs live and online, for as many colleagues as you want to invite.

Is Brennan the right expert for this?

Brennan Jacoby is one of the experts we auditioned ourselves, and we produce every session so we see how each one lands. Participants rate this session 4.1 out of 5, across 207 responses, and rate Brennan personally 4.4 out of 5.

How long does it take, and what do we have to prepare?

It runs 45 min / 15 min: the talk, then live questions. All you do is pick a date. We brief Brennan, produce the session, host and moderate it, run the Q&A, and send you the report within an hour of the end.

Who can join, and where does it run?

A team, a department, an employee network or every single employee at once, with no cap and no per-seat price. It runs inside your own Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Google Meet, or on a branded page we build. No integration, no login, no company device or e-mail.

Can our global colleagues follow it?

The session is delivered in English. You can add high accuracy live subtitles in 8, 16 or 24 languages, so everyone follows in their own. That is a paid option, priced by the number of languages you need.

Will our IT department have a problem with this?

No, and that is by design. There is nothing to install, nothing to integrate and no connection to your systems, so there is nothing for IT to validate: we join your own Teams, Zoom or Meet as a guest speaker, or we host a page and your people open a link. No software, no accounts, and no data of yours that we can reach. It is why hundreds of companies, among them some of the largest technology and financial firms in the world, were able to start within a day.

How does this work under GDPR?

We never receive or hold personal data about your employees. Because the session runs in your own environment, attendance and identity stay with you, and what we report back is aggregated: numbers, ratings and survey answers, not people. That is also why IT approval usually takes minutes rather than weeks.

What do we get afterwards?

You keep the recording and can share it internally. You also get attendance over time, participant ratings for the content and the speaker, the survey answers, and the topics your people asked for next.

Other sessions by Brennan Jacoby

More sessions on Science & Technology

Newsletter

Leave your email address to subscribe to the Leqture newsletter