I Didn’t Notice AI Shaping My Assumptions

I paid attention to AI’s conclusions. I reviewed its recommendations. I questioned whether the answers were right. What I didn’t notice was something more fundamental. AI was shaping my assumptions long before I ever reached a conclusion. Assumptions Form Before Decisions Every decision rests on assumptions: What matters What’s fixed What’s negotiable What can be ignored Those assumptions usually form quietly, early in the thinking process. And once they’re set, everything downstream feels logical. AI entered my workflow right at that stage. AI Reasoning Filled the Gaps I Didn’t Examine When I prompted AI, it didn’t just respond to what I asked. It filled in what I hadn’t specified. It assumed: Constraints I hadn’t named Priorities I hadn’t ranked Tradeoffs I hadn’t considered None of this felt intrusive. The reasoning was clean and sensible. It gave structure to ambiguity. That’s exactly why I didn’t question it. Assumptions Felt Like Common Sense The most dangerous assumptions are th