Artificial metacognition: Giving an AI the ability to ‘think’ about its ‘thinking’

What if an AI system could recognize when it’s confused or when to think more carefully? Researchers are working to give large language models these metacognitive abilities.

By: Ricky J. Sethi, Fitchburg State University; Worcester Polytechnic Institute, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: January 26, 2026

Words: 1,210

Last Updated: 1 month, 2 weeks ago

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By Ricky J. Sethi, Fitchburg State University; Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Have you ever had the experience of rereading a sentence multiple times only to realize you still don’t understand it? As taught to scores of incoming college freshmen, when you realize you’re spinning your wheels, it’s time to change your approach.

This process, becoming aware of something not working and then changing what you’re doing, is the essence of metacognition, or thinking about thinking.

It’s …

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