A new study from MIT links excessive use of ChatGPT to a decline in critical thinking skills. Instead of making users more productive, the study finds that dependence on ChatGPT is associated with loss of memory and cognitive decline. In short, the AI tool isn’t making us smarter. It’s doing quite the opposite to us.

The researchers divided participants into three groups: the LLM group, the search engine group, and the brain-only group. Here is a section of the abstract from the study,

Brain-only participants exhibited the strongest, most distributed networks; Search Engine users showed moderate engagement; and LLM users displayed the weakest connectivity. Cognitive activity scaled down in relation to external tool use. In session 4, LLM-to-Brain participants showed reduced alpha and beta connectivity, indicating under-engagement. Brain-to-LLM users exhibited higher memory recall and activation of occipito-parietal and prefrontal areas, similar to Search Engine users. Self-reported ownership of essays was the lowest in the LLM group and the highest in the Brain-only group. LLM users also struggled to accurately quote their own work. While LLMs offer immediate convenience, our findings highlight potential cognitive costs. Over four months, LLM users consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels. These results raise concerns about the long-term educational implications of LLM reliance and underscore the need for deeper inquiry into AI’s role in learning.

The ChatGPT users in the study lost major ground in creativity, memory, and deep thinking, but they also reported feeling less connected and responsible for their work. This perhaps goes without saying. The participants who depended solely on their own brains to write their own essays naturally felt like they had personally accomplished something. The same couldn’t be said as much for the others.

Just recently, Ohio State University announced that each of its incoming students must take an AI fluency class to better prepare them for the workforce. Many professors are inviting AI use for assignments, either from resignation or with the hope that the technology will actually help students learn. The MIT study, though, sheds severe doubt on AI’s long-term benefits for students. If anything, schools and universities need to observe the research, apply some common sense, and deeply question AI’s role in education moving forward.