Research Summary: The crisis of critical thinking in higher education: rethinking what universities should teach in an age of information abundance and generative AI — a critical narrative review of international evidence

A critical narrative review in Frontiers in Education highlights an emerging crisis of critical thinking across higher education driven by the convergence of digital information hyper-abundance, algorithmic curation, and generative artificial intelligence. Analysing 45 verified international sources, the review evaluates how these technological shifts disrupt traditional higher education paradigms and necessitate a fundamental rethinking of university curricula and assessment designs.

Why it matters

The shift from information scarcity to digital hyper-abundance challenges the foundational value proposition of universities as knowledge-transmitting authorities. If institutions do not adapt curricula and assessments to counter algorithmic over-reliance and GenAI misuse, they risk graduating cohorts lacking independent critical evaluation capabilities. Navigating this transition is essential for maintaining academic rigor and workforce relevance in an automated information environment.

Key insights

• Higher education has historically operated on a paradigm of information scarcity, positioning universities as primary curators and transmitters of knowledge.
• The convergence of digital hyper-abundance, algorithmic curation, and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has fundamentally disrupted this historical paradigm.
• Educators increasingly report a crisis of critical thinking regarding how university students process information and utilise GenAI.
• A synthesis of 45 verified sources identifies an urgent need to re-evaluate what universities teach and how student competencies are assessed.

Source

Frontiers in Education — https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2026.1981900