New Delhi: Most people are aware that ChatGPT can help them complete their work faster and more efficiently and continue to use it in their day-to-day lives, whether it’s summarising a long article, drafting a work email, or finding the right words for an essay. However, a study by researchers at MIT’s Media Lab raises unsettling questions: is people’s reliance on AI tools like ChatGPT quietly making their brains lazier?
In this study, approximately 54 participants, aged 18 to 39, were involved and divided into three groups. One of the groups used ChatGPT to write essays based on SAT-style prompts, another used Google Search, and the third relied solely on their knowledge, with no tools or external help. As they worked, researchers monitored brain activity using the EEG headsets to understand how engaged their minds were.
The group that used ChatGPT showed the lowest brain engagement across the 32 regions. Not only were their essays called soulless by the English teachers, but the data also showed a decline in creativity, attention, and effort with each essay. By the end, many were pasting prompts into ChatGPT and copying the responses with minimal editing. Their brainwaves confirmed this checked-out behavior.
On the other hand, the brain-only group demonstrated the highest engagement, particularly in brain regions associated with imagination, focus, and memory. They also reported feeling more satisfied with their work and took more pride in the final result. Even the Google Search group fared better than the ChatGPT users, suggesting that hunting for information still activates people’s brains more than just asking an AI to do the work.
The lead researcher, Nataliya Kosmyna, says she felt it was urgent to share the feelings even before peer review, especially as more schools and policymakers consider bringing AI tools into classrooms. While tools like ChatGPT can be invaluable, this is a powerful reminder that convenience shouldn’t come at the cost of curiosity. People’s brains still need a workout, and no AI can do the heavy lifting for them.
