If we individually develop our ACEs (Abstract Cognitive Enablers \u2013 rational thinking, critical thinking, advanced logic, complex inductive reasoning, hypothetico-deductive reasoning, creativity, and metacognition), we will be in a better position to be able to compete with AI or AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) as they begin to play a greater role in our society.<\/p>\n
It is estimated by experts that AGI will arrive within the next few years \u2013 if not this year (Sproule, 2025). This is the kind of AI that will be able to make decisions and be far superior to the AI we are seeing today. When AGI arrives, then we will see the economic turmoil begin.<\/p>\n
McKinsey (2023) estimates that about 30% of jobs will be replaced or seriously modified by AI by 2030. With all that upheaval, it is expected that 97 million new jobs will emerge. What are these new jobs and what qualifications will be in demand? There will be some highly technical jobs working on the technical aspects of AI and computing that will be quite secure but be cautious about jobs that are touted as working with AI or teaching people about AI. These last two categories will be very short lived as AI continues to evolve, the need to teach anyone how to use it will fall to zero as AI takes on this role.<\/p>\n
As individuals, our best chance of prospering in the new world of ubiquitous powerful AGI agents is to develop our ACEs to direct, or at least compete with as equals, the AI that will be directing the evolution of society. It is a good thing that you have well developed ACEs \u2013 or do you? That\u2019s why you went to university, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n
The prevalence of ACEs in the population is very low. Although universities claim to teach their students ACEs, the research doesn\u2019t bear it out. It is estimated that only about 3% of university graduates demonstrate a significant increase in critical thinking (Terenzini et. al., 1999, and Arum et. al., 2001). More worrying is that the evidence suggests that we possess relatively little insight into our higher-order cognitive processes (Double, 2025).<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t really the universities\u2019 fault. There is little, if any, targeted instruction. As well, measuring ACEs accurately is extremely difficult (Cowen, 2001; & Pantzare, 2015), and in the everyday assessment of students, it simply doesn\u2019t happen (Peng, & Kievit, 2020). Higher education teachers can\u2019t do it, even though there are many who claim that they can. In order to effectively measure and assess these skills, a teacher would have to mark a single piece of work repeatedly, focusing on the skills one at a time in order to effectively measure them (Miller, 1978).<\/p>\n
Since we have evidence that only about 3% develop a single ACE, the probability of developing six ACEs becomes even smaller.<\/p>\n
In many ways, developing some artificial ACEs (rational thinking, critical thinking, advanced logic, complex inductive reasoning, hypothetico-deductive reasoning) is one of the central goals of AI development. In a recent exchange with Geoffrey Hinton, (personal communication, 2024) he said that there are several AI models demonstrating promising results when it comes to ACEs.<\/p>\n
If we don\u2019t have well developed ACEs, where will this leave us? Depending on our ACE development, we will end up either being subservient to, partnered with, or directing the work of AGI in the future (Walch, 2024).<\/p>\n
As Geoffrey Hinton, 2024 Nobel Prize Winner, said, \u201cPoorly developed ACES will lead us to being \u2018pet tigers\u2019 to advanced AGI agents\u201d (Sproule, 2025).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
References<\/p>\n
Arum, R., and Josipa Roksa. (2011). Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses.<\/em> Chicago: University of Chicago Press.<\/p>\n Cowan N. (2001). The magical number 4 in short-term memory: a reconsideration of mental storage capacity. Behav Brain Sci. (1):<\/em>87-114.<\/p>\n Kathleen Walch (2024). Is Critical Thinking A Superpower In The AI Era? Forbes<\/em>.<\/p>\n McKinsey Global Institute (2023). Generative AI and the Future of Work in America<\/em> \u2013 report.<\/p>\n Miller J. (1978). Multidimensional same–different judgments: evidence against independent comparisons of dimensions. J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform. 4(3)<\/em>:411-22.<\/p>\n Pantzare, A. L. (2015). Interrater reliability in large-scale assessments \u2013 Can teachers score national tests reliably without external controls? Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 20(9)<\/em>, 1-14<\/p>\n Peng, P. Kievit, A. (2020). The Development of Academic Achievement and Cognitive Abilities: A Bidirectional Perspective. Child Dev Perspect,<\/em> 14(1):15\u201320.<\/p>\n Sproule, L. (2025). Will we control AI, or will it control us? Top researchers weigh in. CBC News\u00a0\u00b7\u00a0Posted: Jan 11, 2025<\/p>\n Terenzini, P. T., Pascarella, E. T., & Blimling, G. S. (1999). Students’ out-of-class experiences and their influence on learning and cognitive development: A literature review. Journal of College Student Development, 40(5), <\/em>610-623.<\/p>\n World Economic Report (2020). The Future of Work Report.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If we individually develop our ACEs (Abstract Cognitive Enablers \u2013 rational thinking, critical thinking, advanced logic, complex inductive reasoning, hypothetico-deductive reasoning, creativity, and metacognition), we will be in a better position to be able to compete with AI or AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) as they begin to play a greater role in our society. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":192,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,15,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-critical-decisions","category-future-of-work","category-positive-uses-of-ai"],"yoast_head":"\n