🧠 Is AI Making Us Dumber? Here’s What MIT Found (And How to Fight It)

🔍 What the Study Actually Tested

Researchers at MIT asked 54 people to write essays in three different ways:

• 🧑‍💭 Using their own brain—no help

• 🔍 Using Google Search

• 🤖 Using ChatGPT

They then measured brain activity using EEG scans. The results?

People using ChatGPT had the least brain engagement, while those going solo were the most mentally active. The Google group landed in between.

⚠️ What Happened Over Time

• People who used ChatGPT started leaning on it more and more—often copying and pasting the answers.

• They also remembered less of what they wrote.

• Even after switching back to solo writing, their brains didn’t fully re-engage.

The researchers described it as “metacognitive laziness.” Basically, when the AI did the thinking, people stopped trying.

🎯 Why This Should Matter to You

• AI gives you shortcuts—but those shortcuts can mess with learning.

• When you always let AI do the hard stuff, your own thinking skills can atrophy.

• That means lower creativity, worse memory, and less critical thinking over time.

AI is like a calculator: great for speed, not great for growing your brain.

💡 Try This: Use AI—But Keep Thinking for Yourself

To stay sharp while still using AI, try this workflow:

1. Start by writing on your own. Get 80% of your thoughts down first.

2. Then invite AI in. Ask it to rewrite, polish, or suggest new angles.

3. Don’t accept everything. Edit the AI’s version—make it yours again.

4. Summarize the changes. Teaching yourself or someone else reinforces memory.

5. Go solo next time. Build the muscle before you borrow the machine.

This combo keeps your creativity strong and gets help where it counts.

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