When you go through a problem and have to solve it, you learn to see patterns (of mistakes) and develop a sense for similar problems. Outsourcing the thinking will speed you up for known problems but won't develop your thinking ability.

The gap between those who can solve new problems (and so earn money with it) and those who can't will only increase, with all the social consequences of it. Idiocracy[0] becomes more and more a documentary.

[0] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0387808/

"Critical thinking" is highly over rated. People are just doing what they have been trained to do by someone else, or copying what they see others doing. That's all that is required really.

Its easy to prove - take some one who is quite full of themselves and their critical thinking skills, and put them in a situation they haven't been trained to handle and watch what happens. It doesn't matter who they are.

Humanity survives not because of its critical thinking skills or their ability to solve quantum field equations, but because there are enough surplus people to take a hit when the whole system is thrown into situations where critical thinking does jack.

Related submission to the mentioned No AI December https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46098433