Yes, ChatGPT is making us DUMBER! And science just PROVED it..
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The Impact of ChatGPT on Cognitive Skills
AI assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Replit, Cursor etc. are everywhere today. From writing emails to solving homework, they make life easier. But while the benefits are clear, new research is warning us: if we keep letting AI do the thinking for us, we might stop thinking as deeply ourselves. This summary explains what recent studies say about how AI use may affect our brain- our memory, our thinking skills, and our ability to learn and create.
Researchers ran an experiment with students writing essays under three conditions: with ChatGPT, with Google Search, and with no help. They monitored brain activity, memory recall, and feelings of ownership over the work.
Key Findings:
Less Brain Activity: People who used ChatGPT showed the weakest brain engagement on EEG scans. Those who wrote on their own had the strongest neural activity.
Poor Memory: ChatGPT users struggled to remember what they had written- even minutes later.
Low Ownership: Many felt their essay wasn’t truly theirs. They gave AI credit for doing much of the work.
Long-Term Effects: Over multiple sessions, those who relied on ChatGPT performed worse over time, while those writing without AI improved. When asked to write without AI after several sessions of use, ChatGPT users struggled more than those who had never used it.
A growing concern is "cognitive offloading"- letting AI think for us. A study by Fan et al. (2024) found that students who used ChatGPT wrote better essays, but didn’t learn more. They were less engaged with the material.
Professionals using AI weekly reported they were becoming more dependent and less confident in solving problems alone. Using AI as a memory tool might be hurting our actual memory. In the ChatGPT essay study, users had poor short-term recall. Brain scans showed reduced memory-related activity (lower theta and alpha brain waves). Experts call this "digital amnesia"- we remember less when we expect technology to remember for us. Long-term use of AI tools for notes, reminders, and answers might lead to shallower memory and weaker attention spans. We build skills by using them. If we stop, they weaken- just like unused muscles. A study on creative writing showed students who used ChatGPT had lower originality and weaker content than those who wrote on their own. Teachers and tech professionals alike report that heavy AI use leads to more generic writing and reduced problem-solving ability.
Solution and Recommendations
What’s the solution? Use AI as a support, not a substitute. Educators and professionals suggest encouraging students to:
- Use AI for research, but write and reflect in their own words.
- Practice tasks without AI regularly to build mental strength.
AI is not the enemy- but mindless use might be. To keep our minds sharp, we need to stay actively engaged. If we don’t, the price of convenience could be our own cognitive decline.
At SoRAI, we place the highest importance on the development of your cognitive skills, which is why we've developed a scientifically driven & research-backed education framework to strengthen them. Interested? Explore our AI Literacy programs - designed to build cognitive complexity step-by-step: from knowing and understanding to applying, analyzing, and creating, all with ethics as the foundation.
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