Amongst its strategic predictions for 2026, Gartner says that an atrophy of critical-thinking skills due to the use of GenAI will lead to ‘a surge of lazy thinking’ and push 50% of organisations into making ‘AI-free’ skills assessments.
► Use of AI will degrade critical-thinking skills
► Insufficient guardrails will lead to issues
As automation accelerates, says the firm, the ability to think independently and creatively will become both increasingly rare — and increasingly valuable. It is also expecting AI-driven automation to cause some problems, and by the end of 2026, expects many AI-related legal claims to be taking place, due to insufficient risk guardrails being put in place. This will make the design of AI systems much more crucial.
Gartner also believes that sovereign AI approaches will begin to take hold, with 35% of countries locked into region-specific platforms using proprietary contextual data by 2027, with significant implications for vendors that get involved.
Also on the horizon, is what it describes as the first true challenge to mainstream productivity tools in 35 years. This will prompt a $58 billion market shake-up with new vendors emerging and value shifting to agentive experiences.
Destination AI
Destination AI from TD SYNNEX is our comprehensive end-to-end programme designed to help you and your customers get ahead of the AI curve.
