Nearly two-thirds of PhD students surveyed by Nature last year thought that AI tools would weaken their critical thinking and research skills. They have good reason to worry. Evidence is building that AI tools can ‘deskill’ experts in medicine, computer science and other fields. For example, a study of experienced physicians found that access to an AI system that analyses colonoscopy images seemed to cause the doctors’ performance to drop significantly whenever the system was unavailable. “Just being aware that this phenomenon exists hopefully provokes some self-reflection about which skills people want to maintain and which they’re willing to outsource,” says information scientist Kevin Crowston.