New Study Warns AI May Be Eroding Cognitive Abilities in Students and Workers

Researchers led by MIT research scientist Nataliya Kosmyna have uncovered troubling evidence about the impact of artificial intelligence on human cognition. In a study published last year, Kosmyna’s team used electroencephalograms (EEGs) to monitor the brain activity of 54 students while they wrote short, open-ended essays over a three-month period.

The participants were divided into three groups: one instructed to use ChatGPT, another allowed to search for information on Google (without AI-generated summaries), and a third required to rely solely on their own knowledge. A subset of each group was then asked to switch to or from using ChatGPT for a fourth month.

The EEG results revealed a concerning trend: students using ChatGPT “consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels,” with a noticeable decline in cognitive engagement as the study progressed.

“The brain didn’t fall asleep, but there was much less activation in the areas corresponding to creativity and to processing information,” Kosmyna told the BBC this week.

Participants relying on ChatGPT also struggled with recalling their own essay content, aligning with broader research suggesting AI use may hinder information retention. The issue of originality emerged as well—one teacher involved in the study noted that essays from ChatGPT users were so similar that she suspected students were “sitting next to each other.”

These findings point to a growing concern among researchers: the widespread adoption of AI chatbots may be enabling us to offload critical thinking, gradually weakening our cognitive abilities. Recent studies support this fear. One paper claimed to have found the first causal evidence that AI reliance can impair intellectual performance, describing the effect as a “boiling frog” phenomenon—a slow, unnoticed decline in cognitive function.

A separate study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania found that when participants were given the option to use ChatGPT for reasoning and knowledge-based tasks, they overwhelmingly chose the chatbot—a behavior the researchers termed “cognitive surrender.”

Users of AI tools have also reported anecdotal evidence of diminished creativity and difficulty articulating nuanced ideas. Many teenagers describe these technologies as addictive, warning that they are eroding cognitive abilities over time.

Why AI Reliance May Be a Cognitive Risk

While the full extent of AI’s impact on the human mind remains unclear, experts emphasize the need for urgent research. Kosmyna noted that “our brains love cognitive shortcuts,” but warned that overreliance on AI could lead to long-term intellectual decline.

For more insights on AI’s effects on cognition, read: AI Use Appears to Have a ‘Boiling Frog’ Effect on Human Cognition, New Study Warns.