The Use of AI in Improving Student's Critical Thinking Skills

“AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence by a system or machine to mimic human behaviors ISSN: 2808-103X Proceedings homepage: https://conferenceproceedings.ump.ac.id/pssh/issue/view/34 367 like perceiving, reasoning, learning, planning, predicting, and more (Xu et al., 2021).”

“The argument is also supported by Walter ((2024) who explains that if students do not comply with reading the basic context of a material of a lesson before using AI, then it does not encourage students to criticize the output of the AI results they get.”

“In past years, AI has been recognized by many people and is also used in various fields, one of which is the field of education (Rahman & Watanobe, 2023).”

“Berg and Plessis (2023) wrote that AI helps teachers by providing structures, ideas, and resources.”

“It expands learners’ perspectives and fosters their development as proficient and autonomous learners, enhancing learners’ selfdirected learning ISSN: 2808-103X Proceedings homepage: https://conferenceproceedings.ump.ac.id/pssh/issue/view/34 369 competency (Jin & Ji, 2021).”

“Lopez et al. (2023) state that critical thinking might divert attention from essential, job-specific competencies that directly impact workforce readiness.”

“One significant advantage of AI in education is its ability to provide immediate and constructive feedback to students by analyzing vast amounts of data to gain insight into students' strengths, weaknesses, and learning preferences (Kaledio et al., 2024).”

“According to Bloom’s taxonomy, these skills are classified as High Order Thinking Skills (HOTS), essential for success globalized education landscape (Jaenudin et al., 2020).”

“Karimi and Khawaja (2023) stated a refutation that AI cannot help students in critical thinking.”

“It is used in many situations despite the difficulty of defining critical thinking, the elements of critical judgment, reflection interpretation, and justification of decisions seem to be fundamental to it (Cossu et al., 2024).”

“Critical thinking skills have consistently been acknowledged as a key objective in higher education, representing an indispensable core competency for the 21st century (Zhao et al., 2024).”

“Studies by Lawasi et al. [51] and Hong et al. [52] demonstrate that, when used appropriately, AI can stimulate analytical thinking by allowing students to engage in deeper analysis, synthesis, and argumentation.”

“Furthermore, scholars highlight the growing importance of critical thinking in the age of generative AI, both as a safeguard against epistemic distortion and as a key learning outcome supported by AI-enhanced instruction [83], [84].”

“Though its efficacy depends on students ’ capacity to formulate exact questions and critically evaluate AI-generated content, AI helps in extending ideas and offers deeper insights (Lawasi et al., 2024).”

“In contrast, those with less prior knowledge may use them to fill gaps in their learning or face some difficulties in comprehension [10].”

“Moreover, some critics argue that using AI in education could dehumanize the learning experience, where students interact more with machines than with human teachers, resulting in a less engaging and less fulfilling learning experience [28].”

“In fact, the use of AI has been found to significantly enhance critical thinking, particularly when its implementation is oriented toward personalized learning and the critical evaluation of information (Ashraf et al., 2025; Lawasi et al., 2024; Fuchs & Aguilos, 2023; Mastrogiacomi, 2024).”

“This corresponds with the claim of Lawasi et al. [51], who highlighted that AI can help students broaden their ideas, deepen their understanding, and verify the accuracy and relevance of the information.”

“Lawasi et al. (2024) found that AI can significantly support the development of critical thinking through personalized learning experiences and interactive simulations; however, challenges remain, such as potential biases and the need for a strong foundational understanding.”

“When positioned as a source of adaptive feedback, AI appears to function as a form of cognitive scaffolding— prompting students to evaluate information, weigh alternative perspectives, and construct arguments more systematically (Lawasi et al., 2024; Hong et al., 2025; Vildósola et al., 2025).”

“Similarly, it was observed that AI use could help students expand ideas, gain deeper insights, and verify information accuracy, which aligns with the present study’s observation that students who used AI more frequently were comparatively better at evaluating and reflecting on information [26].”

“LLMs can reduce the burden of information gathering and broaden accessible perspectives, potentially allowing learners to allocate more effort to evaluation and reflection [29,30].”