Earlier this year, Prof. Dr. Michael Gerlich’s research documenting negative correlations between generative AI usage and critical thinking in knowledge work went viral. Research supporting his findings followed…but so did frequent misinterpretation in the polarized terrain of AI discourse.
Now Gerlich joins us to explain what exactly the research on cognitive offloading and critical thinking is showing, the social implications of these findings, and productive ways to interpret and act on them. The session will invite grounded conversations about how AI may enhance and diminish important critical thinking practices. Gerlich will consider multiple dimensions of this issue:
- What critical thinking is and how to study it
- Types of AI technologies and their differences
- Human-AI cognitive interplay versus atrophy
- Youth adoption patterns and emerging discrepancies
- Possible futures and societal readiness.
Discussants Lindsey DeWitt Prat and Kirsten Bruckbauer will extend the conversation into ethnographic and research practices, weighing topics such as how AI is changing research workflows, cognitive offloading in research operations, pressures of efficiency and quantification bias, AI research tools as sociotechnical assemblages, ethnographic versus AI pattern finding, and strategic uses of AI in our work.
Join us to establish a nuanced, productive groundwork for engaging with generative AI.
Speakers
Professor Michael Gerlich, Ph.D., MBA, is the Head of Center for Strategic Corporate Foresight and Sustainability and Head of Executive Education at SBS Swiss Business School. He specializes in strategy, marketing, change management, and international business. A prolific researcher and thought leader in AI’s societal impact, he has published leading research and been invited to speak in international forums, most recently the United Nations AI for Developing Countries Forum, AI Summit Tokyo, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and Youth Forum Switzerland. Gerlich also has worked as an adviser to the President and the Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan, the Cabinet of Ministers in Uzbekistan and various Ministers for economic affairs in Azerbaijan; and held leading positions within GIZ / KfW (German Development Bank), the International Finance Corporation, and executive positions in the private sector.
Lindsey DeWitt Prat, PhD, is a Director at Bold Insight, where she leads global UX research initiatives to help teams understand how cultural and linguistic dynamics shape technology use. A humanities-trained ethnographer, author, and translator with more than 15 years of research experience bridging academia and industry, she brings cultural insights to projects spanning 25+ countries, with particular depth in Japan and East Asia. Her recent research focuses on pathways to making AI more inclusive and culturally resonant through deep, contextual understanding of people and society. Most of her published work explores gender exclusion, cultural heritage, and religion in Japan through a combined ethnographic and historical approach. Lindsey holds a PhD in Asian Languages & Cultures from UCLA and an MA in International Studies and Comparative Religion from the University of Washington. She is a 2025–2026 AI for Developing Countries Forum (AIFOD) Senior Fellow.
Kirsten Bruckbauer is a Director at Bold Insight and has over a decade of experience designing user research solutions that deliver context and clarity for product and business strategy teams. A master connector, she understands the interrelated operations of business, technology, and design, and has a track record of driving innovation and maturity in organizational research practices through strong partnerships between human-centered design, data analytics, industrial engineering, and behavioral science. Kirsten has an AB in Anthropology and a minor in Vocal Performance from Princeton University, and an MA in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago. She is also a certified LUMA practitioner and SAFe 4 Certified Agilest.