Royal Observatory Greenwich warns that AI reliance could make humans less intelligent over time

In an era of rapid artificial intelligence advancement, one of Britain's oldest scientific institutions has issued a stark warning: growing dependence on AI tools may be dulling human minds and eroding the very curiosity that has driven the world's greatest innovations.

The warning

The Royal Observatory Greenwich, renowned for its centuries of contributions to astronomy, has cautioned that the increasing habit of turning to AI for instant answers to complex questions could render humans "less intelligent" over time.

The institution argues that the appeal of quick, AI-generated responses is coming at a significant cost — one measured not in money, but in human knowledge and intellectual capability.

Paddy Rodgers, director of the Royal Museums Greenwich group, put it plainly: "A reliance solely on instant answers risks losing the habits of questioning and evaluation that underpin knowledge, expertise and innovation."

Curiosity as an irreplaceable human asset

Speaking to the BBC in the context of the Royal Observatory's ongoing First Light transformation project — which aims to channel 350 years of astronomical passion into contemporary scientific discovery — Rodgers acknowledged that technology has been instrumental in unlocking major scientific breakthroughs. However, he was emphatic that human curiosity cannot and should not be replaced by AI.

It is the deep, exploratory instinct to question and investigate, he suggested, that has historically led to the most significant advances in human understanding. That instinct, he warned, is at risk of being gradually switched off by the convenience of instant AI assistance.

A balance yet to be struck

The warning reflects a broader tension that the scientific community is grappling with. Whilst heavy reliance on AI for cognitive tasks is widely acknowledged to be reshaping how humans think and learn, AI-powered tools are simultaneously accelerating the pace of scientific discovery in ways that would previously have been unimaginable.

The challenge, it seems, lies in preserving human intellectual rigour whilst embracing the undeniable benefits that artificial intelligence has to offer.