Scilight Press

 The advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) has garnered significant attention within the academic research community, reflecting the prevailing zeitgeist. However, there is a paucity of literature that has delved into its connection with the higher order thinking skills of human beings. The purpose of this systematic review is to investigate the relationship between AI utilization and the development of critical thinking (CT) in the field of education. A systematic literature search was performed in two databases, Web of Science and Scopus, with a focus on empirical studies related to AI and CT. The review process followed the PRISMA framework and adopted a bottom-up approach, Ultimately, the integrated review synthesized 21 eligible studies from a total of 649 articles. The systematic review identified three relationships between AI technologies and CT. The results suggest that AI technologies can help to enhance learners’ CT skills (n = 13). However, excessive or inappropriate utilization of AI may hinder CT development (n = 7). Moreover, the cultivation of CT skills has been shown to positively influence the effectiveness of AI utilization (n = 4). This article represents the first literature review to delve into the reciprocal relationship between AI implementation and CT development within the education field, striving to illuminate the ways in which learners can enhance their higher-order thinking skills through more effective utilization of AI technologies.