The Only Uniquely Human Trait in the AI Era

Carnegie Mellon Professor Po-Shen Loh on why creativity is no longer our sole advantage and what to build instead.

The Shifting Goalposts of Human Advantage

When ChatGPT first emerged, the immediate reaction for many, including Carnegie Mellon University math professor Po-Shen Loh, was to declare creativity as the new frontier. It was the one thing we believed AI could not replicate. This notion was quickly disproven.

In a stunning demonstration of capability, Google's artificial intelligence managed to solve four of the six problems from the International Math Olympiad—a competition renowned for its utterly original and unprecedented questions. This level of creative problem-solving surpasses what most humans, including experts, can achieve.

This evolution forces a critical re-evaluation. If AI can generate novel ideas and solutions, what remains as the fundamental differentiator for human intelligence? According to Loh, it is the hope that we, as a species, still care that humans exist. Our value is shifting from what we can do to what we care about.

The Hidden Danger in Offloading Thinking to AI

The proliferation of AI, particularly large language models, presents a profound risk to the foundational skills of human civilization: logical thinking and reasoning. This is most acutely visible in education, where students are increasingly using AI to complete writing assignments.

Loh draws a powerful analogy: using AI to do your homework is like driving a car for your daily mile of exercise. The task is completed, but the intended benefit—mental fitness—is completely lost. The "L" in LLM (Large Language Model) stands for "Language," which is the very medium through which we develop logical thought patterns. Delegating this work stunts our intellectual development, creating a generation that is dependent rather than autonomous.

The core purpose of education is not to produce a perfect essay but to forge a capable and independent mind. Skills like reading, writing, and communication are not mere academic checkboxes; they are the gym equipment for building a robust, flexible brain.

Cultivating the Right Kind of Intelligence

How do we identify and nurture this crucial autonomy? Loh's method for interviewing prospective students is revealing. He doesn't look for those who can quickly solve familiar problems. Instead, he seeks out individuals who, when faced with a completely novel challenge, can synthesize new hints and unfamiliar ways of thinking into a coherent solution.

This skill—adapting to the entirely unknown—is a form of creativity that remains vital. However, Loh believes the most critical skill for the future is a deeper philosophical shift: the intrinsic motivation to create value and delight for others.

His reasoning is pragmatic. As AI becomes the dominant tool for executing tasks, humans will need to collaborate to survive and thrive. The only way to become a desirable partner in this new ecosystem is to be authentically and deeply motivated by a desire to improve the lives of others. Those who are not will be left behind.

The Superpower of Simulation and Empathy

Solving real-world problems requires more than raw intelligence; it requires empathy. You cannot truly solve a problem for someone unless you can see it through their eyes. This ability to simulate another person's perspective is a critical superpower.

Loh illustrates this with a personal example. After seeing a talented singer in Nashville, he used AI not to write a report for him, but to build his own internal logic model of the country music performance landscape. He used the technology to ask questions, follow links, and understand the context, thereby enhancing his own ability to simulate that world.

This skill of mental simulation is what enables successful entrepreneurship. It allows an individual to imagine a product or strategy and play out its potential consequences in their mind before committing resources.

Building a More Thoughtful World

Po-Shen Loh's work extends beyond theory into a practical social enterprise called LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. It addresses a critical bottleneck in education: scaling the teaching of critical thinking. The innovative solution involves a win-win ecosystem:

• Students (Ages 10-13): They receive engaging math enrichment classes that foster critical thinking.
• High School Coaches (Ages 15-18): Academically talented and kind high school students are hired to lead the classes. Their own limiting factor is often soft skills like communication and leadership.
• Professional Actors: These actors train the high schoolers in charisma and communication. They then provide live feedback during coaching sessions, turning the job into a real-time leadership academy.

This model does more than teach math. It builds a networked community of clever, kind, and thoughtful individuals who know and trust each other. In the face of future civilization-scale challenges, such a network could be our greatest asset.

The Risk of Intellectual Atrophy and Deception

The trend toward offloading thought is dangerous for two primary reasons:

1. Loss of Self-Expression: The joy of life comes from injecting your own unique contribution and flavor into the world. Reliance on AI for everything from writing to fashion choices diminishes this self-expression and makes life less fun.
2. Vulnerability to Deception: A world that cannot think critically is easily manipulated. Every narrator has an agenda. The ability to dissect arguments, identify bias, and understand underlying motives is essential for navigating a complex information landscape dominated by persuasive AI tools.

Loh actively manages this by curating his news intake to include both right-leaning (e.g., Fox News) and left-leaning sources to understand differing biases and worldviews. This practice of active critical consumption is a necessary defense mechanism.

The Path Forward: Social Entrepreneurship

The ultimate goal is to foster a generation of social entrepreneurs—people motivated not by vast wealth, but by the profound satisfaction of delighting others. The key to sustainable social enterprise is aligning the solution to a problem with a viable business model.

The philosophy is to find a problem whose solution has real, tangible value that someone is willing to pay for. This revenue then allows the enterprise to scale its positive impact, creating a self-sustaining engine for good. This approach is more sustainable than relying on donations and ensures the solution addresses a genuine market need.