Scientists are warning that overreliance on artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT could lead to a decline in cognitive abilities, including creativity, attention span, critical thinking, and memory. New studies suggest that the convenience of AI may come at the cost of mental sharpness.
Adam Green, a professor of neuroscience at Georgetown University, cautioned that if people stop engaging in the mental labour that AI now handles, their cognitive capabilities will atrophy. "There's plenty of evidence that if you are not doing as much of the actual thinking, then your capability to do that kind of thinking is going to atrophy," he said.
However, the effects are not uniformly negative. Jared Benge, a clinical neuropsychologist at the University of Texas at Austin, co-authored a meta-analysis of 57 studies involving over 411,000 adults and found no evidence of so-called "digital dementia". In fact, technology use appeared to reduce the risk of cognitive impairment. Benge stressed that how people use AI determines its impact.
Research has already demonstrated similar effects from previous technologies, such as GPS damaging spatial memory and search engines weakening recall via the "Google Effect". Green compared AI use to a robot lifting a barbell at the gym: "You get nothing." A recent study found that heavy AI users scored significantly worse on a critical thinking test, apparently because they outsource their thought processes to machines.
Experts also highlight the risk of "cognitive surrender", where users trust AI even when it is wrong. A Microsoft Research study indicates that users are most vulnerable when they lack expertise in a subject. Hank Lee, a PhD candidate at Carnegie Mellon University, noted that if users cannot judge the quality of AI output, they are at greater risk of cognitive decline.
To mitigate these risks, experts recommend using AI as a supplement rather than a replacement for mental effort, and maintaining critical engagement with the technology.
