Archive · 29 Oct 2025
AI and De-skilling: The New Anxiety
Imagine robots and computers getting so good at doing jobs that people used to do, like writing or solving problems.
At first, people worried that AI might take over everything and cause big problems.
But now, the worry is changing.
Instead of a big disaster, people are starting to worry that we might forget how to do things ourselves because the machines are doing them for us.
This is called 'de-skilling.'
It's like if you always had a calculator to do your math homework; you might forget how to do math without it.
Some of these lost skills might not matter much, but others could be important.
So, while AI is becoming normal, we need to think about what skills we might lose.
Kwame Anthony Appiah discusses the shift in anxiety surrounding AI from apocalyptic scenarios to 'de-skilling.'
De-skilling is described as a loss of various skills due to AI's increasing capabilities.
The author notes that AI is moving from being seen as miraculous to being taken for granted, similar to Google.
The core issue is not whether de-skilling exists, but understanding its nature.
Appiah categorizes de-skilling losses as potentially costly, trivial, or even generative.
- Who
- Kwame Anthony Appiah
- What
- Discusses the concept of 'de-skilling' driven by AI
- When
- Present
- Where
- The Atlantic
- Why
- AI is becoming commonplace, shifting anxiety from catastrophic AI scenarios to a gradual loss of skills.
- Author
- Kwame Anthony Appiah
- Publication
- The Atlantic
- Core Concept
- De-skilling due to AI advancements
- Shift in Worry
- From apocalypse to atrophy