Generative AI and the Formation of Practical Wisdom: A Thomistic Analysis

Abstract

This paper argues that the regular use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) by young people can thwart their opportunities to develop practical wisdom by substituting for or displacing various practices that this virtue's cultivation requires. The argument unfolds in five steps. First, I review some of GenAI's capabilities and uses, highlighting those that can interfere with intellectual and moral development. Second, I discuss Aristotle's definition of practical wisdom ( phronesis ) and Aquinas's corresponding analysis of the “integral parts” of prudence ( prudentia ). Third, I draw on Matthew Stichter's The Skillfulness of Virtue to confirm that persons acquire a virtue much as they acquire a skill—through concerted practice. Next, I explain some of the ways in which frequent GenAI use is likely to hinder the daily practices by which practical wisdom is slowly acquired by young people. I conclude that the rapid adoption of GenAI for even mundane tasks should incite pause, due to its potentially serious moral consequences.