AI’s threat in medicine is not just about experts losing their reasoning skills, but about medical students and trainees who may never develop these critical skills due to early dependence on AI tools. While practicing doctors might become less adept clinically with AI, the greater danger lies with trainees who use AI before building their own judgment. Unlike deskilling, which implies loss of an ability, this scenario risks ‘never-skilling’—meaning some doctors might not learn how to reason clinically at all. Tools like OpenEvidence, an AI chatbot used by two-thirds of U.S. doctors for quick, research-based answers, are now also popular among medical trainees. This early reliance could hinder the essential development of independent clinical reasoning during formative education stages.
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