Relying on AI tools like ChatGPT for learning could be detrimental to your cognitive abilities. A recent MIT study, “Your Brain on Chat GPT,” found that individuals using LLMs to complete tasks showed significantly lower brain activity, weaker neural connectivity, and poorer information recall compared to those using search engines or just their brains. The study suggests this “cognitive offloading” has a residual negative effect, meaning your thinking skills may not immediately recover even after you stop using AI. The true danger isn’t AI taking your job, but you inadvertently making yourself unemployable by weakening your critical thinking skills.
Why AI Can Harm Learning
Effective learning requires effortful “information processing”—the mental work of connecting new information to existing knowledge, comparing concepts, and organizing it into a coherent mental model or “schema.” AI allows users to bypass this crucial step by delivering pre-packaged, simplified answers. This creates an “illusion of learning,” where understanding is mistaken for genuine knowledge acquisition. By skipping the effortful processing, you also skip the development of long-term memory and true expertise. This is compounded by the fact that LLMs can “hallucinate” (provide false information), which a learner without prior expertise cannot easily identify.
The Solution: Use AI as a Cognitive Assistant
To leverage AI without sacrificing your intelligence, you must use it as a tool to support your thinking, not replace it. The key is to embrace the mental effort required for learning. When a topic feels difficult, confusing, or overwhelming, that is the signal that your brain is engaged in the process of building expertise. Use AI to handle menial tasks like finding resources, generating an initial overview, or acting as a sounding board. This saves you time on low-value activities, allowing you to dedicate your mental energy to the high-value work of deep thinking, analysis, and synthesis. Challenge the AI’s outputs, look for gaps, and focus on building your own understanding, rather than simply accepting its conclusions.
Mentoring question
Reflect on a recent learning task where you used AI. Were you using it as an assistant to handle menial work, or were you offloading the difficult thinking that builds real expertise?
Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=6sJ50Ybp44I&si=JSfL4gw4pmRFUvu9
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