The "kids today are doomed" argument is one of the oldest and most repetitive complaints in human history. Every generation seems to develop an extraordinary confidence that it was the last one capable of independent thought, hard work, resilience, proper communication, or common sense. Yet somehow civilisation continues to function and evolve despite these dire predictions. The same criticisms were levelled at those who grew up with books, newspapers, radio, television, calculators, personal computers and the internet. Each innovation was supposedly going to create a generation incapable of thinking for themselves. Instead, society adapted and expectations changed. What's particularly amusing is that many of the people lamenting that "young people don't think anymore" are themselves relying on sat-navs instead of maps, smartphones instead of memory, search engines instead of libraries, and calculators instead of mental arithmetic. They happily outsource vast amounts of cognition every day, yet become alarmed when the next generation adopts the latest tool. AI will undoubtedly make some people intellectually lazy. So did Google. So did calculators. So did Cliff Notes. The difference is that those who fail to understand the underlying subject eventually get exposed. AI can generate an answer; it cannot sit an exam, defend an argument under scrutiny, perform surgery, troubleshoot a failed system, or demonstrate genuine expertise when challenged. The real danger isn't AI. It's the arrogance of assuming that intelligence is measured by how closely younger generations resemble our own. If anything, today's children may need to think more critically than previous generations. They must learn not only facts, but also how to evaluate sources, detect misinformation, identify AI-generated nonsense, and separate confidence from competence. The future belongs neither to those who reject AI nor to those who blindly trust it. It belongs to those who understand how to use it while retaining the ability to think independently. As for being the "last generation of thinkers?" My own experience suggests quite the opposite. My son's knowledge base is vastly broader than mine was at the same age. He has access to information, educational resources and learning opportunities that simply didn't exist when I was growing up. By the time I had managed to locate a book, encyclopedia or knowledgeable adult, he can access multiple sources, explanations, lectures and viewpoints within seconds. What some mistake for a lack of intelligence is often just a difference in how knowledge is acquired and processed. Young people today may memorise fewer isolated facts because information is instantly available, but they are often exposed to a far wider range of subjects, ideas and perspectives than previous generations ever were. The challenge for them is not access to knowledge; it is learning how to filter, verify and apply it. Frankly, that is a far more sophisticated problem than the one many of us faced. Every generation likes to imagine it was the last to possess genuine wisdom. More often, it is simply the last generation to mistake familiarity for superiority.... And every generation that has ever existed has said something remarkably similar. Every one of them has been wrong.
