Thinking with AI vs. letting AI think for you Thinking with AI vs. letting AI do the thinking in the legal profession

AI is quickly surpassing a competitive advantage and becoming a necessity for legal professionals.

However, recent research has identified a significant negative correlation between the use of AI and critical thinking skills that legal professionals must understand and address.

Even though more and more legal professionals are turning to AI tools, this may be taking a toll on their skills. Luckily, it doesn’t have to lead to this. Using AI strategically and learning to work collaboratively with this technology can strengthen your judgment and help you reach new levels of efficiency.

Jump to ↓

Hidden risks that every legal professional must overcome

---

Choose the right path for your AI journey

---

Why your choice of AI determines your success

---

Master the art of AI collaboration

---

Access complete research and strategic frameworks

Hidden risks that every legal professional must overcome

New research from SBS Swiss Business School identifies a phenomenon that should change the way legal professionals use AI. This study shows the use of AI can weaken critical thinking skills:

• Use of AI vs. critical thinking: r = -0.68 (quite strong negative correlation)
• Use of AI vs. cognitive unpacking: r = +0.72 (quite strong positive correlation)
• Cognitive vs. cognitive unloading critical thinking: r = -0.75 (quite strong negative correlation)

It means: The more lawyers rely on AI without a strategic framework, the weaker their independent analytical capabilities become.

The emergence of AI agents—autonomous systems capable of independent planning, reasoning, and execution of workflows—has increased this risk. While agent AI can improve productivity, without strategic implementation, AI can replace critical thinking, not enhance it.

Choose the right path for your AI journey

As AI becomes increasingly sophisticated, lawyers face a choice that impacts their future: risk intellectual dependency by outsourcing critical thinking to automated systems or enhance their analytical capabilities through strategic AI collaboration.

Which will you choose?

Path 1: Let AI think FOR you

This path represents a concerning trend toward intellectual dependency.

Characteristics of cognitive delegation:

• Complete handover of analytical tasks to AI systems
• Blind acceptance of AI-generated conclusions
• Minimal human validation or oversight
• Focus on speed rather than understanding

Potential risks:

• Weakening of critical thinking skills over time
• Inability to validate AI reasoning or catch errors
• Exposure to professional liability from unvetted AI output
• Loss of competitive analytical advantage

Path 2: Think WITH AI

This path represents strategic collaboration where AI augments human judgment, not replaces it.

Characteristics of cognitive partnership:

• AI handles comprehensive data collection and initial analysis
• Human professionals evaluate, validate, and synthesize findings
• Transparent AI reasoning enables meaningful collaboration
• Focus on broader decision making

Potential advantages:

• Improved analytical capabilities through AI partnerships
• Maintain and strengthen critical thinking skills
• Confident validation of AI-assisted work products
• Competitive advantage through superior speed and depth of analysis

The choices you make now determine whether AI will become a foundation for increased professional excellence or a catalyst for reduced analytical capabilities. Strategic decision-making opportunities are narrowing as AI adoption accelerates across the legal profession.

Why your choice of AI determines your success

Not all AI tools are created equal.

The source and quality of AI training data and source data fundamentally determine whether the technology enhances or undermines professional capabilities. This distinction becomes important when your reputation and professional results depend on the accuracy of your AI-assisted work.

General AI limitations:

• Taken from unreliable online sources
• Including outdated or incorrect information
• There is no editorial oversight or validation
• Quotations can cause unreliable content

Professional level AI advantages:

• Built exclusively on a curated legal database
• Supported by an expert editorial team
• Every source is validated and authoritative
• Direct access to trusted legal precedents

Legal professionals who choose AI solutions that match their commitment to excellence, accuracy and client service will benefit from AI precision that enhances their expertise.

Master the art of AI collaboration

Successful legal professionals are not those who reject or give in to AI, they are those who learn to think with AI rather than letting AI think for them.

This shift requires:

• Deliberate tool selection: Choose professional-grade AI built on authoritative content
• Strategic implementation: Using AI to augment, not replace critical thinking
• Continuous skills development: Maintain and enhance analytical capabilities through AI partnerships
• Ethical framework: Develop oversight and competency standards for AI-augmented practices

Access complete research and strategic frameworks

The future of the legal profession belongs to practitioners who master partnership cognition. Those who use AI to enhance their analytical capabilities will maintain the independent judgment that defines superior legal practice.

Learn more about how you can use AI to enhance your skills, not harm them. Download the full white paper “The impact of artificial intelligence on critical thinking: Challenges and opportunities for legal professionals” to gain more insight into strengthening AI critical thinking.