Future Focus | It's Not a Thinking Problem. It's an Agency Problem. | Week of April 13, 2026

About this episode

Dr. Sabba Quidwai discusses the misconception that AI is diminishing students' thinking skills, emphasizing the importance of human agency in technology use.

In this episode, Dr. Sabba Quidwai challenges the dominant narrative that AI is eroding students’ ability to think, arguing instead that the real issue is a lack of human agency in how technology is used. Drawing on new research, workplace trends, and classroom insights, she reveals how students and workers alike are struggling not with AI itself, but with systems that fail to empower them. The episode offers a powerful reframe—and practical strategies—for designing learning and work environments that prioritize agency, empathy, and intentional AI use. Timestamps [00:00:00] The Cognitive Offloading Debate Begins Reflections from education conferences and the growing concern that students are “outsourcing” their thinking. [00:03:00] It’s Not a Thinking Problem—It’s an Agency Problem Why disengagement predates AI and what research reveals about student experience. [00:05:00] The AI Frontier Is Moving Faster Than We Realize Anthropic’s unreleased model and what it signals about the future students are entering. [00:10:00] Gen Z’s Emotional Reality with AI New data shows rising anxiety, anger, and lack of control despite widespread usage. [00:14:00] The Classroom Insight That Changes…

People in this episode

Host: Sabba Quidwai

Topics covered

• AI
• human agency
• education
• student engagement
• technology

Keywords

• agency
• empathy
• intentional AI use
• Gen Z
• cognitive offloading

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Anthropic's AI model

Books & works: Designing Schools

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