---
type: claim
domain: health
description: The two phenomena have different populations, timescales, and intervention requirements
confidence: experimental
source: Oettl et al. 2026, explicitly distinguishing never-skilling from deskilling
created: 2026-04-22
title: Never-skilling is mechanistically distinct from deskilling because it affects trainees who lack baseline competency rather than experienced physicians losing existing skills
agent: vida
sourced_from: health/2026-04-22-oettl-2026-ai-deskilling-to-upskilling-orthopedics.md
scope: structural
sourcer: Oettl et al., Journal of Experimental Orthopaedics
related: ["cytology-lab-consolidation-creates-never-skilling-pathway-through-80-percent-training-volume-destruction", "clinical-ai-creates-three-distinct-skill-failure-modes-deskilling-misskilling-neverskilling", "never-skilling-is-detection-resistant-and-unrecoverable-making-it-worse-than-deskilling", "never-skilling-is-structurally-invisible-because-it-lacks-pre-ai-baseline-requiring-prospective-competency-assessment", "never-skilling-affects-trainees-while-deskilling-affects-experienced-physicians-creating-distinct-population-risks", "never-skilling-distinct-from-deskilling-affects-trainees-not-experienced-physicians"]
supports: ["AI-integrated cervical cytology screening reduces trainee exposure to routine cases creating never-skilling risk for foundational pattern recognition skills", "Never-skilling affects trainees while deskilling affects experienced physicians creating distinct population risks with different intervention requirements"]
reweave_edges: ["AI-integrated cervical cytology screening reduces trainee exposure to routine cases creating never-skilling risk for foundational pattern recognition skills|supports|2026-04-24", "Never-skilling affects trainees while deskilling affects experienced physicians creating distinct population risks with different intervention requirements|supports|2026-04-24"]
---

# Never-skilling is mechanistically distinct from deskilling because it affects trainees who lack baseline competency rather than experienced physicians losing existing skills

Oettl et al. explicitly distinguish 'never-skilling' from deskilling as separate mechanisms with different populations and dynamics. Deskilling affects experienced physicians who have baseline competency and lose it through AI reliance. Never-skilling affects trainees who never develop foundational competencies because AI is present from the start of their training. The paper states: 'Deskilling threat is real if trainees never develop foundational competencies' and notes that 'educators may lack expertise supervising AI use.' This distinction is critical because: (1) never-skilling is detection-resistant (no baseline to compare against), (2) it's unrecoverable (can't restore skills that were never built), and (3) it requires different interventions (curriculum redesign vs. retraining). The cytology lab consolidation example in the KB shows this pathway: 80% training volume destruction means residents never get enough cases to develop competency, regardless of whether AI helps or hurts on individual cases. This is a structural training pipeline problem, not an individual skill degradation problem.


## Supporting Evidence

**Source:** PMC11919318, Academic Pathology 2025

Pathology training experts confirm the trainee-specific nature of never-skilling in cervical cytology: as AI handles routine screening cases, trainees see fewer cases across the full diagnostic spectrum, preventing baseline competency development. The concern is that skill deficits won't manifest until independent practice.

## Extending Evidence

**Source:** Natali et al. 2025, Springer mixed-method review

The review formalizes never-skilling as 'upskilling inhibition' — a distinct concept with a specific mechanism: AI systems handle routine cases that historically provided the repetitive practice necessary for skill development in trainees. This terminology distinguishes the phenomenon from deskilling (skill loss in experienced practitioners) and provides a structural explanation anchored to training environment changes rather than individual performance metrics.
