Does AI Expand Human Intelligence or Atrophy It?

AI systems are advancing faster than the humans expected to govern, use, and adapt alongside them. As models increasingly shape how people write, reason, learn, and decide, the central question is no longer technical. It is human: what kind of intelligence are we building, and what happens to our own in the process?

Some see AI as a powerful cognitive amplifier, capable of expanding human potential when designed and used with intention. Others warn that offloading thinking too early or too broadly risks weakening the struggle that produces judgment, creativity, and agency. Still others argue the implications extend beyond classrooms or workflows, touching incentives, institutions, and the long-term trajectory of society at a moment of real inflection. This debate examines where amplification ends, replacement begins, and what it will take to ensure AI strengthens rather than diminishes human intelligence.