Too much ChatGPT makes you lazy, new brain research shows

A new study from a laboratory in Massachusetts (USA) casts a shadow over the use of ChatGPT, especially among young people.

The conclusion? The more you use the chatbot for schoolwork, the lazier your brain becomes.

For the study, young adults from the Boston area were divided into three groups. The first group wrote papers using ChatGPT, the second used Google, and the third wrote without any tools. As they worked, their brain activity was measured via EEG scans .

What turned out? The group that used ChatGPT scored the lowest in almost every area: less brain activity, fewer original ideas and less effort. As the study progressed, they submitted their assignments faster and with less effort. Often a prompt (instruction or question) was literally pasted into the chatbot and the result was then submitted immediately.

According to lead researcher Nataliya Kosmyna, this is worrying. “The brains of young people are still developing. If we use AI thoughtlessly in education, we run the risk of undermining that development.”

The group that did everything without help showed the most brain activity. Their brain was more active in areas linked to creativity, memory and language processing. These participants also reported being more satisfied with their work and felt more ownership of their texts.

The group using Google still outperformed the ChatGPT group. Despite AI chatbots increasingly replacing search engines, looking up information still appears to generate more brain activity than simply generating text.

In a second phase of the study, participants had to rewrite their previous reports. The ChatGPT group had to work without AI this time, but could hardly remember what they had written before. Their brains showed less activity in the areas involved in memory and processing.

The other group was now allowed to use artificial intelligence. Remarkably, this group now showed more brain activity than before. According to Kosmyna, this offers hope: "AI can indeed help with learning, as long as it is used in addition and not as a replacement for brain work."

Kosmyna fears that policymakers are too quick to introduce AI into education. “We urgently need guidelines on how to use these tools. The brain needs time and space to develop in an analog way.”

Psychiatrist Zishan Khan, who works a lot with young people, confirms the concerns: "I see more and more students who blindly trust AI. That can be at the expense of their memory, concentration and perseverance."

First regional heat wave of the year: Eindhoven reaches 30.6 degrees