We have all used ChatGPT to do our work faster and better, and continue to use it everyday—whether it’s summarizing a long article, drafting a work email, or finding the right words for an essay. But a new study by researchers at MIT’s Media Lab raises an unsettling question: is our reliance on AI tools like ChatGPT quietly making our brains… lazier?
The study involved 54 participants, aged 18 to 39, who were split into three groups. One group used ChatGPT to write essays based on SAT-style prompts, another used Google Search, and the third relied purely on their own brains—no tools, no tech. As they worked, researchers monitored brain activity using EEG headsets to understand how engaged their minds really were.
The results? Let’s just say they aren’t reassuring for AI fans.
The group that used ChatGPT showed the lowest brain engagement across 32 regions. Not only were their essays called “soulless” by English teachers, but the data also showed a decline in creativity, attention, and effort with each essay. By the end, many were simply pasting prompts into ChatGPT and copying the responses with minimal editing. Their brainwaves confirmed this checked-out behavior.
On the flip side, the “brain-only” group showed the highest engagement, particularly in brain regions linked to 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 our brains more than just asking an AI to do the work.
Lead researcher Nataliya Kosmyna says she felt it was urgent to share the findings, even before peer review, especially as more schools and policymakers consider bringing AI tools into classrooms. “I’m afraid someone will say, ‘Let’s do GPT kindergarten,’” she warns. “That would be absolutely detrimental. Developing brains are at the highest risk.”
What’s more, when ChatGPT users were later asked to rewrite one of their earlier essays—without using the tool—they struggled to recall their own arguments. Their memory simply hadn’t stored the material. “It was efficient,” Kosmyna admits, “but nothing was integrated into their brains.”
Ironically, when the paper was published, many people ran it through ChatGPT to get a summary—some even got basic facts wrong, like which version of ChatGPT was used (the researchers never said). Kosmyna had expected this and cleverly inserted traps to prove a point: even summarizing the paper with AI misses the depth.
Psychiatrists are concerned too. Dr. Zishan Khan, who works with children and teens, says he’s already seeing signs of overreliance on AI in young students. “Neural connections that help you think, remember, and adapt—they’re weakening,” he says.
Kosmyna and her team are now studying what happens when programmers use AI for coding—and she says the early results are “even worse.”
While tools like ChatGPT can be incredibly helpful, this study is a powerful reminder: convenience shouldn’t come at the cost of curiosity. Our brains still need a workout—and no AI can do the heavy lifting for us.
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