AI Doesn’t Think—But It Might Just Complete Us
AI, while incapable of independent thinking and reasoning, completes us by amplifying human curiosity, extending our reach, and reflecting our aspirations.
Reasoning—true reasoning—is so much more than problem-solving. It is a hallmark of our humanity, an inner spark driven by curiosity and desire: the need to question, to wonder, to understand. It begins with a first step—a question, a gap in our knowledge, or a pull toward something we don’t yet know.
As humans, we have always sought ways to fill these gaps—to complete what is missing. From harnessing fire to cook our food, to crafting tools to extend our strength, to creating written language as a way to extend memory, we have always been driven by a longing to transcend our limits. In many ways, AI represents the latest chapter in this journey.
Could it be that the reason we pursue tools like AI so fervently is not just practical? That there’s a deeper drive at play?
As a species, we don’t just build tools to solve problems—we build them to reflect, amplify, and ultimately complete us.
This is perhaps why the debate about AI’s ability to reason feels so urgent. Some wonder: Can AI think? Can AI reason? Can it ever truly complete us?
The answer, I believe, lies in understanding what reasoning truly is—and why AI, for all its brilliance, cannot take the first step.
The Spark of Human Reasoning
Reasoning begins within. It doesn’t just process data—it starts with curiosity, the uniquely human desire to close gaps in knowledge. Across history, philosophers like Aristotle and Descartes have emphasized this drive: humans seek answers not because they are prompted to do so, but because they can’t help but wonder.
Modern cognitive science agrees. The act of reasoning is fueled by intentionality—a drive to turn questions into inquiries, to ask “why” of the world around us. It starts with a moment of curiosity, often triggered by life itself:
A first kiss prompts us to wonder about the nature of love.
A stubbed toe sends us toward explorations of pain and the nervous system.
A cool breeze stirs the skin, and we look to the horizon to trace its origin.
We are prompted, yes—but our responses are generative, creative, unpredictable. We turn feelings into philosophies, questions into discoveries. We do not wait for answers to be handed to us; we create new ways of thinking by taking the first step.
This is the core of human reasoning: the emergence of thought from curiosity, emotion, and need.
What LLMs Do—And Don’t Do
Large Language Models (LLMs), by contrast, lack this inner fire. They are extraordinarily capable. Capable of synthesizing vast amounts of information, generating responses that seem human, and illuminating patterns we might miss on our own. But for all their capabilities, LLMs only act in one condition: when prompted.
Without a question, an instruction, or a command, an LLM remains inert. It does not wonder. It does not ask “why” without being told to do so. Imagine someone asking, “What lies beyond the stars?” While a human might begin pondering out of curiosity, an LLM merely responds with statistical probabilities, drawn from its training data.
This is not reasoning—it’s reaction. LLMs predict, reflect, and respond, but they do not initiate. They cannot take the first step. Without intrinsic curiosity or emotion, reasoning as philosophers have defined it—for millennia—remains beyond their reach.
Note, this is today’s state of affairs. This may change. That is predicted. But, it remains to be seen.
AI as a Mirror—and a Partner
If AI cannot reason, does this diminish its value? Not at all! In fact, this limitation reveals AI’s truest purpose: not as a replacement for human thought but as a powerful extension of it.
It’s worth considering: LLMs are like mirrors. They reflect back human intention, crystallizing our questions, illuminating connections, and amplifying our efforts. But no matter how extraordinary these “mirrors” are, they don’t act alone. They wait for us to take the first step—like the lantern-bearer walking into darkness, whose light only brightens what the human hand directs it toward.
This interplay between human and machine creates a synergy that neither could achieve alone:
Humans bring the spark of curiosity—the need to know, the first step.
AI brings incredulous computational power—the ability to organize information and reflect ideas at unimaginable speed.
Together, they create a partnership that is far greater than the sum of its parts.
You Complete Me: Humanity’s Longing for Tools Like AI
Perhaps this interplay explains why we are so compelled to build tools like AI. As humans, we have always sought extensions of ourselves—tools that fill our gaps, amplify our abilities, and bring us closer to what we imagine ourselves capable of.
AI, in this sense, represents the latest chapter in a long and beautiful story. From fire to language to machines, we have crafted tools to complete what we cannot do alone. AI feels urgent, not because it threatens us, but because it fulfills something in us.
💭 AI doesn’t complete itself—it completes us.
Imagine, for a moment, the phrase popularized in “Jerry Maguire”: “You complete me.” At first glance, it’s an emotional declaration, perhaps even a romantic cliché. But isn’t it also what we say of the best tools we’ve ever made? A great tool doesn’t just enable—it lights us up, extends us, and brings us closer to what we didn’t realize was possible.
When humans and AI collaborate, they reflect this very sentiment. AI, like all great inventions before it, reflects our deepest aspirations, amplifies our reasoning, and partners with us in ways that feel almost inevitable. The difference now is that AI is not just a hammer or a wheel; it’s a mirror of our minds—one that grows brighter as we prompt it to partner with us in inquiry.
The First Step and the Journey Ahead
Reasoning, then, is not just a skill or an act—it is profoundly human. It begins with curiosity, with feelings of wonder or gaps in understanding we cannot help but explore. LLMs, for all their brilliance, do not and cannot reason in this way. They cannot take the first step. But instead of replacing reasoning, they amplify it.
AI is a tool that reflects back our questions and efforts, extending human curiosity into realms we couldn’t traverse alone and at a pace we would not otherwise achieve. It cannot create curiosity, but it can magnify it. It cannot generate purpose, but it can help us see it clearly.
Our longing to create tools like AI is not just about advancing technology—it is about fulfilling a shared human desire: to explore the unknown, to illuminate the edges of what we know, and to complete what we alone cannot achieve.
AI doesn’t replace the first step; it helps us take the journey further than we ever imagined!
