According to a new study from MIT’s Media Lab, your late-night love affair with ChatGPT might be doing more harm than good, especially to your memory and learning skills. In a series of tests involving 54 participants, researchers discovered that people who leaned too heavily on ChatGPT ended up forgetting what they had just written. No joke, a whopping 83% couldn’t recall quotes from their own essays just minutes later.
The experiment divided participants into three camps:
- Team ChatGPT
- Team Search Engine
- Team Use-Your-Own-Brain
In the fourth and final round, they switched it up: the ChatGPT group had to go solo (cue panic), while the brain-only group got a taste of LLM magic. Spoiler: it didn’t go well for Team ChatGPT.
Brains on Autopilot? MIT Says Yes
And it wasn’t just memory loss. Brain activity also took a nosedive. Using EEG headbands, the scientists tracked cognitive engagement. The results? The more people relied on external tools, the less their brains actually worked.
To put it bluntly, ChatGPT users’ brains were chilling. Literally. The researchers said the “brain connectivity scaled down systematically,” meaning your neural circuits might be taking a backseat every time you hit “generate.”
ColdIQ co-founder Alex Vacca didn’t hold back, calling the findings “terrifying” and claiming AI is turning us into “cognitively bankrupt” zombies.
“You write something, hit save, and your brain has already forgotten it because ChatGPT did the thinking,” he said.
The Hidden Cost: Cognitive Debt Is Real
The study introduces the concept of “cognitive debt”, basically, every time you let ChatGPT do the work, you’re borrowing mental energy from your future self. Eventually, you’ll pay the price with reduced creativity, critical thinking, and an increased risk of being, well, easily manipulated.
Sure, AI tools are amazing (yes, I’m writing this with one), but there’s a big fat warning label: don’t over-rely or outsource your entire brain. Especially if you’re young and still developing your ability to think critically.
The paper hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet, but the message is clear: before we crown LLMs as humanity’s greatest helper, we might want to ask, at what cost?
Even ChatGPT, when asked about the study, humbly responded:
“This study doesn’t say ChatGPT is inherently harmful—rather, it warns against overreliance without reflection or effort.”
Well said, chatbot. Now, excuse me while I go try to remember something without Googling it.
Emily Johnson
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