Are You Still Thinking for Yourself?
When was the last time you had a hard question and didn’t immediately reach for your phone, Google, or AI? Or wrote the first draft yourself? Or sat with an idea long enough to change your own mind?
AI has made it incredibly easy to get an answer. But there’s a hidden downside: the easier the answer becomes, the easier it is to skip the thinking.
And it shows up in surprisingly ordinary ways.
You stop writing emails and start approving them. You ask AI what you think before asking yourself. Your team arrives at meetings with polished summaries but struggles when someone asks, “Why?” Your kids know how to find the answer, but get uncomfortable when there isn’t one.
These aren’t signs that AI is bad. They’re signs that some of our most important thinking muscles may be getting less exercise.
The question isn’t whether you should use AI. Of course you should. The question is: What thinking should you never outsource?
That’s the idea behind Erica Dhawan’s new book, Use Your Brain: Think Deeper in a World on Autopilot.
Join author of USE YOUR BRAIN, Erica Dhawan, for an exclusive book launch.
This won’t be a book talk. It will be a practical workout for your brain.
Together, we’ll explore how to use the incredible tools available to us without slowly giving away the skills that make us valuable in the first place: judgment, curiosity, discernment, creativity, and original thought.
You’ll learn:
ABOUT ERICA DHAWAN
Erica Dhawan is a bestselling author, world-renowned keynote speaker, and CEO coach. Her previous WSJ bestseller, Digital Body Language, transformed how leaders communicate in a global, hybrid world. She has advised executives at Fortune 500 companies, addressed audiences across five continents, and is recognized as one of the leading thinkers on the future of leadership. She holds degrees from Wharton, Harvard and MIT.
When:
Monday, January 11, 2027
6:00 PM – Wine & Cheese Reception
6:30 PM – Program Begins
7:15 PM – Q&A
7:30 – 8:00 PM – Networking
Where:
Midtown location (Note: Address will be sent via email to all registered guests 24-48 hours prior to the event to the "Primary Email" address listed in your profile. Please review your profile to confirm that the email address listed is correct.)
Cost:
WCNY Supporting Members - $26 (WCNY supporting membership costs $95/yr at Join/Renew Membership)
Other Wharton Alumni & Alumni Guests - $52
Gold & Benefactor Members - $0
Pre-registration is required. Please register early as this event will sell out quickly.
Registration is subject to availability and will close on Monday, January 11th at 9:00am.
Cancellations must be made at least 48-hours (business day) prior to the event date by sending an email to Gabriela Sanchez. Refunds or credits for future events are not available for any no-shows or late cancellations. Click here for full details.
When was the last time you had a hard question and didn’t immediately reach for your phone, Google, or AI? Or wrote the first draft yourself? Or sat with an idea long enough to change your own mind?
AI has made it incredibly easy to get an answer. But there’s a hidden downside: the easier the answer becomes, the easier it is to skip the thinking.
And it shows up in surprisingly ordinary ways.
You stop writing emails and start approving them. You ask AI what you think before asking yourself. Your team arrives at meetings with polished summaries but struggles when someone asks, “Why?” Your kids know how to find the answer, but get uncomfortable when there isn’t one.
These aren’t signs that AI is bad. They’re signs that some of our most important thinking muscles may be getting less exercise.
The question isn’t whether you should use AI. Of course you should. The question is: What thinking should you never outsource?
That’s the idea behind Erica Dhawan’s new book, Use Your Brain: Think Deeper in a World on Autopilot.
Join author of USE YOUR BRAIN, Erica Dhawan, for an exclusive book launch.
This won’t be a book talk. It will be a practical workout for your brain.
Together, we’ll explore how to use the incredible tools available to us without slowly giving away the skills that make us valuable in the first place: judgment, curiosity, discernment, creativity, and original thought.
You’ll learn:
- The signs of Critical Thinking Atrophy and a quick way to spot them in yourself, your team, and even around the dinner table
- The Use Your Brain framework: REFLECT, INTERROGATE, DISCERN, BE ACCOUNTABLE for knowing when to use AI and when to think for yourself
- The “Think First” test: a simple habit for preventing AI from becoming your automatic first move
- How to make your team, family, kids or community smarter, not just faster: including practical questions leaders can start using immediately
- What not to outsource, the decisions, conversations, and thinking moments worth protecting at work and at home
ABOUT ERICA DHAWAN
Erica Dhawan is a bestselling author, world-renowned keynote speaker, and CEO coach. Her previous WSJ bestseller, Digital Body Language, transformed how leaders communicate in a global, hybrid world. She has advised executives at Fortune 500 companies, addressed audiences across five continents, and is recognized as one of the leading thinkers on the future of leadership. She holds degrees from Wharton, Harvard and MIT.
When:
Monday, January 11, 2027
6:00 PM – Wine & Cheese Reception
6:30 PM – Program Begins
7:15 PM – Q&A
7:30 – 8:00 PM – Networking
Where:
Midtown location (Note: Address will be sent via email to all registered guests 24-48 hours prior to the event to the "Primary Email" address listed in your profile. Please review your profile to confirm that the email address listed is correct.)
Cost:
WCNY Supporting Members - $26 (WCNY supporting membership costs $95/yr at Join/Renew Membership)
Other Wharton Alumni & Alumni Guests - $52
Gold & Benefactor Members - $0
Pre-registration is required. Please register early as this event will sell out quickly.
Registration is subject to availability and will close on Monday, January 11th at 9:00am.
Cancellations must be made at least 48-hours (business day) prior to the event date by sending an email to Gabriela Sanchez. Refunds or credits for future events are not available for any no-shows or late cancellations. Click here for full details.