{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,5]],"date-time":"2026-11-05T14:46:38Z","timestamp":1793889998772,"version":"4.8.0"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786665600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychol."],"abstract":"<jats:p>Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has rapidly entered educational settings, yet a fundamental question remains unresolved: does GenAI enhance learning or does it improve immediate performance while reducing the cognitive activity on which durable learning depends? This Hypothesis and Theory article offers a theoretical reading of apparently contradictory findings\u2014improved academic products alongside qualitative, neuroscientific, and behavioral signs of reduced cognitive engagement\u2014which we term the critical-thinking paradox of GenAI-integrated learning. These contrasts may also reflect genuine heterogeneity across tasks, populations, and tools; the proposed convergence is treated as a testable interpretation, not a fact. Drawing on four theoretical traditions\u2014levels of processing, desirable difficulties, cognitive load theory and Load Reduction Instruction, and cognitive offloading research\u2014we propose a differentiated three-level framework that maps AI-integration strategies onto surface, intermediate, and deep cognitive processing, specifying level-appropriate AI roles, primary risks, and boundary conditions. We adopt the emerging construct of cognitive debt: a potential cumulative reduction in metacognitive calibration and unaided higher-order performance that persists beyond an AI-assisted episode. Our contribution is to distinguish episodic offloading (deliberate and task-specific) from habitual offloading (routine and weakly monitored) and to map both patterns onto the three cognitive levels. The framework generates falsifiable hypotheses, centrally that unrestricted AI use on deep-processing tasks may yield a product\u2013process dissociation: higher-rated assignments but lower unaided delayed transfer. We specify developmental stage, prior knowledge, and metacognitive monitoring accuracy as preregistered boundary conditions and outline a research program combining confirmatory experiments, interaction telemetry, and longitudinal measurement.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2026.1906070","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]],"date-time":"2026-08-14T04:22:46Z","timestamp":1786681366000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["The critical-thinking paradox in generative AI-integrated learning: distinguishing efficiency from cognitive depth\u2014a differentiated framework and testable propositions"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Jiayin","family":"Lin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Guangxi Normal University","place":["Guilin, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Naif Mohammed","family":"Al-Hada","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Baise University","place":["Baise, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"100316","DOI":"10.1016\/j.caeo.2025.100316","article-title":"Does ChatGPT-enhanced collaborative learning foster critical thinking in education? 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