How Do We Think

METR’s RCT found AI made developers 19% slower—yet they refused to work without it. The paradox reveals a deeper truth: when AI handles execution, human cognition must migrate upstream to specification, context design, and judgment. A framework grounded in cognitive science and HCI research.

Date: June 14, 2026  |  Estimated Reading Time: 28 min  |  Author: Xueping Gao