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How ChatGPT May Be Training Us to Think Less

25 June 2025 · 60 views · 0 likes · 0 reposts · 100 blog views

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What if using ChatGPT and other LLMs is quietly training us to think less? I’ve been worried about this for a while.

Now there’s evidence to support my concerns.

A recent study had participants write essays across four sessions - one group used ChatGPT, another used Google, and a third relied only on their own brain. They wore EEG headsets to track brain activity.

The results were expected.

The more people relied on AI, the less their brains lit up. Neural activity literally dropped.

  • The "brain-only" group showed the strongest connectivity across memory and decision-making regions.
  • Google users were somewhere in between.
  • Those using ChatGPT have the weakest neural engagement across the board - especially in alpha and beta waves related to attention and cognitive effort.

When those same AI users were later asked to write without AI, their brains didn’t bounce back. They struggled to recall their own essays. Many couldn’t quote even one sentence. They described their work as "not really theirs".

Now, think about kids using AI for homework.

We’re giving them a tool that makes writing easier - but it may also be short-circuiting how they learn. No mental struggle, no memory encoding, no critical thinking. The study calls it cognitive debt, which it truly is.

I'm not against AI - you can see my posts show that I'm a huge fan of it. I use it every day. But this highlights the concerns I've been raising. If we stop staying engaged - if we let AI do the thinking for us - the cost will be high: a cost to our learning, creativity, and sense of ownership.

Letting AI write for you is like using a calculator before you’ve learned to add - faster, but hollow.

Powerful tools shouldn’t weaken powerful minds.

How ChatGPT May Be Training Us to Think Less
How ChatGPT May Be Training Us to Think Less

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