Beyond plagiarism: Cognitive dependency and the risk of knowledge collapse in Canadian higher education

A reflection on genAI, cognitive dependency, and the future of learning

Abstract

The rapid and eager adoption of generative AI in Canadian higher education is having a profound effect on discussions about academic integrity. Almost all current discourse centers on issues of plagiarism and detection. This reflection, however, argues that a more significant and dangerous development is emerging: knowledge collapse and cognitive dependence- the gradual and insidious erosion of the learner’s capacity to produce, acquire, analyse, and integrate knowledge through their own faculties, on account of the uncritical embrace of sophisticated technologies. Unlike academic integrity concerns, knowledge collapse may be occurring without violation of any institutional AI policy. This reflection, drawing on the literature on cognitive offloading, AI literacy, and academic integrity, discusses how students’ critical faculties may be harmed by generative AI and the learning that happens from them- and offers the following proactive solution: The THINK Framework. I provide suggestions on how human cognition and technological progress can be brought into balance.