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Bolanle Mojeed
Artificial Intelligence has been hailed as having the capacity to make the smart even smarter. It comes with every needed tools and mechanism for prompt research analysis. However, there are concerns.
A new study by researchers at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is bringing to light an unexpected side effect of using AI assistants like ChatGPT: possible cognitive decline. According to the findings of the MIT Media Lab team, exclusive use of these tools can reduce mental engagement, weaken memory capacity, and impair critical thinking.
The study, currently in preprint stage , analyzed the brain responses and performance of a group of participants during writing tasks. The results suggest that, in the long term, frequent use of AI for content generation can lead to what researchers call “cognitive debt” – a decline in independent mental performance and an increased vulnerability to superficial thinking, Euronews writes .
The brain becomes less active when we write with the help of AI
To assess the real effect of technology on the learning and writing process, the researchers divided the participants into three groups: some used ChatGPT, others a classic search engine, and the last ones wrote without any digital help. During the task, brain activity was monitored by electroencephalogram (EEG), and later, the essays were evaluated by humans and automated systems.
Those who used only ChatGPT showed the lowest brain activation , especially in areas associated with memory, attention, and reflective thinking. In addition, these participants had difficulty remembering what they had written, demonstrating cognitive disengagement from the generated text. On the other hand, those who wrote without any digital tool had the highest cognitive engagement and the best results on memory tests.
In a second phase of the experiment, the group using ChatGPT was asked to write a new text without any help. Their writings were considered weaker, “lacking depth and with obvious biases,” compared to those of the other participants.
Danger Of Losing Connection With One’s Own Ideas.
Researchers warn that repeated use of AI tools can lead to a “ likely decline in learning abilities ” and may reduce the ability to critically analyze information over time. Furthermore, participants who used ChatGPT showed weaker emotional and intellectual connection to the ideas expressed , and some were even unable to remember sentences from the written texts.
“When users accept suggestions without evaluating them, they not only give up on ideas, but they also risk internalizing superficial or biased views,” the report states. The authors also point out the long-term risk: diminished intellectual curiosity, decreased creativity, and increased vulnerability to manipulation .
In contrast, those who wrote without any help reported a greater sense of satisfaction, internal coherence, and engagement, and the neural connections during the task were noticeably more active. The study suggests that AI can be a useful tool, but passive use, without critical thinking, can have adverse effects on essential cognitive functions .
MIT researchers are calling for the effects of using AI tools, especially large linguistic models (LLMs), to be studied more thoroughly before they are presented as universally beneficial solutions for society.
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