Flame Centre Future Skills Institute

AI turns days of work into minutes. It may even seem harmless.
But research reveals an alarming truth about AI use that shouldn’t be ignored.

🔴 A large-scale experiment with over 𝟳𝟱𝟬 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁𝘀 found that AI users completed tasks 𝟮𝟱% 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 and produced work 𝟰𝟬% 𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 than those without AI.
-(Dell’Acqua et al., 2023).

Sounds great, until you look closer.

🔴 Our research shows that many AI users are becoming 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀, and 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿-𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁-𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝘀𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀.
- Most AI users are choosing 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆.

Even more concerning, studies reveal a troubling pattern:
- The more frequently people use AI, the 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴.

One study found that 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝗔𝗜 𝘂𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 when they outsourced mental tasks to AI.

🔴 Over-reliance leads to:

🔥 𝗖𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 that weakens problem-solving, creativity, and decision-making.
🔥 Becoming a 𝗖 𝗢 𝗚 𝗡 𝗜 𝗧 𝗜 𝗩 𝗘 𝗦 𝗟 𝗢 𝗧 𝗛—when humans stop forming their own thoughts and simply accept what machines produce.

But here’s the important part.
Our research also shows the 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 can happen.

🔥 Humans can actually 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗻 their critical thinking by using AI differently.

What’s the difference?
- Users think 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 before using AI
- They 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲 AI-generated ideas
- Humans lead—AI supports
- The result: 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗽𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁𝘀

We believe 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻-𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 will achieve the best outcomes, if we bring our big picture understanding, judgement and intuition to the equation.

"𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 + 𝘈𝘐. 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘈𝘐. 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘪𝘯𝙜 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘈𝘐.”

🔴 Are you an AI user?

Get insights from our research and learn how to future-proof yourself with the 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗳𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲.

Download Flame Insights
https://tinyurl.com/3jezbyry

𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗜 — 𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿?
GenAI can make your work look polished, while quietly weakening your thinking.

Be honest.
When a task lands on your desk, do you:
- Prompt AI.
- Get a clean, confident output.
- Impress your manager.

…until you’re asked “𝗪𝗵𝘆?”

And suddenly:
- The output isn’t quite right.
- You can’t defend the logic.
- The confidence disappears.

🔴 Speed isn’t intelligence.

Here’s how to use AI 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲—and still stand out:

- Get clear on what you’re trying to achieve
- Challenge AI’s assumptions with your expertise
- Edit ruthlessly based on what you know
- Own every word—and the reasoning behind it

🔴 Yes, AI turns days of work into minutes.

But in our interviews with AI users, we’re seeing this:
🔹 Less patience
🔹 Skipped thinking steps
🔹 Blind trust in confident answers
🔹 Little or no fact-checking
🔹 Speed chosen over quality

🔴 What feels 𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘭 with AI may be slowly making us worse thinkers.

🔥 AI should sharpen your thinking—not replace it.

Follow us to learn how to work 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 AI while keeping your judgement, credibility, and competitive edge.

"AI can generate answers, but humans must think deeply and widely too."
- L&D leader

🔴 AI is powerful, but it doesn't understand your business context, your culture, or your values.

We need to move beyond just learning to use AI tools at the tactical level to thinking with them.

This means:
- Knowing what is your big picture—what are you really trying to achieve?
- Designing the process of partnering with AI—break down complex tasks into steps and sequence them
- Analyzing AI outputs—is it genuinely good valid work, or is it workslop?
- Iterating intuitively—add your signature to the outputs based on your experience and expertise
- Reflecting on your thinking process—are you leading AI or is AI leading you?

🔴 At Flame Centre, we show the way in partnering with AI for complex work with a tested thinking framework.

🔥 Thinking with AI is a necessary skill NOW. It starts with you.

Guide your people. Let's not outsource human intelligence. Use it to lead AI to create superior outputs.

🔴 How do we lead AI and nurture our human intelligence?

Download the eBook.
https://forms.office.com/r/eziUWnaJvY?origin=lprLink

Learn more about what humans need when using AI, and what’s worth learning.

Upcoming Public Workshop: Feb 25 & 26
Our Performance Conversations Workshops for Managers are designed to equip leaders with the tools to inspire, manage, review, and develop their teams for improved performance.


The workshop covers:
• Setting clear expectations and fostering accountability.
• Building trust and rapport for constructive feedback.
• Navigating challenging conversations with confidence.


We asked participants to rate their 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 the workshop to see how they have grown. The radar chart shows our average scores before and after the Performance Management workshops.


This workshop is ideal for managers and supervisors who want to learn best practices in performance management and apply proven techniques for performance conversations.

Check out the details and secure your seat today!
https://www.flamecentre.com/performance-management-conversations

Performance reviews are more than routine check-ins—they’re powerful tools for building trust, fostering accountability, and driving employee growth.

We help managers transform these conversations through our step-by-step structured conversational process. Our training ensures managers are well-prepared to handle each stage of the performance review with clarity and confidence.

💡Check out the 3 tips to maximize the impact of performance conversations.


Explore Our Solutions:
Transform performance conversations in your organization. Partner us to align, inspire and empower high-performing teams.

The Core of Performance Management: High-Quality Performance Conversations and FeedbackPerformance Management Best 3 tips to maximize the impact of performance conversations. Research that supports effective performance management practices. Read more.

"In 2025, success in business and careers will hinge not on what you know but on how effectively you can leverage skills that drive innovation and value creation."

🎯 To stay ahead, it's crucial to learn, unlearn and relearn:
1. Adaptability
The ability to pivot and adapt to new technologies and methodologies is more important than ever.

2. Tech-Savviness
Embracing AI, data analytics, and other digital tools can significantly enhance your career prospects.

3. Human Skills
Critical thinking, creativity, and emotional intelligence remain irreplaceable by machines.

📍How to get started?
1. Identify skills gaps to assess areas for improvement.

2. Lifelong learning.

3. Network and collaborate to share knowledge and experiences.

📍Let’s Chat!
Reach out to us today to discover how our solutions can empower your organization to thrive in this ever-evolving landscape.

The 5 Most In-Demand Skills In 2025 The top 5 in-demand skills for 2025. Stay ahead by discovering how to blend cutting-edge technology with essential human capabilities to thrive in an AI-driven economy.

Join us for a book sharing and panel conversation on Career Development!

Explore new updates, key insights, practical and impactful approaches to employee growth and engagement.

Register today!
https://www.flamecentre.com/on-demand-webinar

How do we navigate our careers in the ever-changing environment?
💡 𝑲𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒇 𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔.

"What is the best work I can do that will give me meaning, trigger my creativity and ignite my passion?"

Career Planning is an essential skill to help us take ownership of our careers, find options to grow and thrive in the organisation.


Check out our SSG-funded public workshops:
- Career planning | 18 April
- Career coaching | 11 April & 24 April am only

How clear and distinctive is your current strategy?
What are some key considerations?

Get the strategy checklist here https://bit.ly/3M4Da88

What business are you in?
Looking at the business from a higher perspective, how do you define your business?

Organisational and individual success depends on working out the business you are in, playing the right game and mastering the rules of that game.

Do you have a clear strategy in place?
Get a better understanding of strategic thinking to develop a winning strategy https://www.flamecentre.com/can-strategic-thinking-be-learned

"In a world that demands constant adaptation and innovation, honing critical thinking skills and the ability to share difficult truths is not only a professional asset but also a path toward meaningful progress and improvement."


Find out how to be a critical thinker and make positive changes with these 3 tips
https://www.flamecentre.com/three-tips-to-be-critical-thinker