Fact 01: In the 1970s, less than 15% of the people in the United States were obese. Now, it’s more than 40%.
What happened in the past few decades?
There are many reasons, but the primary cause is the toxic food environment. The people in the US have been exposed to ultra-processed, calorie-dense foods that are cheap and available everywhere.
Fact 02: A research team from MIT conducted an experiment that revealed that using AI can decrease neural connectivity and engagement.
Can you see a pattern here? I think I do.
But does that really mean AI is making us dumber, and should we avoid using it? If we don’t, how can we adapt, given that AI is already a part of our daily life and workflow?
In this piece, I have tried to find some answers.
Is AI Really Making Us Dumber?
No, AI is not making us dumber. At least, we don’t have enough concrete proof that it does.
The same question was asked to Dr. Nataliya Kosmyna, the lead researcher of the study, and she outright denied it. She even said that making such a claim would be a disservice to their study.
Dr. Kosmyna also said that they never used words like “dumb,” “stupid,” “brain rot,” etc., in their paper, because that’s just not the case. Their research still has many limitations and would require many more datasets to reach a conclusion like that.
So, now the question is –
What Is AI Doing to Our Brain?
To put it simply, using AI is decreasing the neural connectivity and engagement in our brains.
The study that Dr. Nataliya Kosmyna and her co-authors conducted involved 54 participants divided into three groups.
The difference was that one group used AI to write, another used search engines like Google, and the last group had no tools other than their brains.
What the researchers saw was very interesting.
The participants who didn’t use any kind of tools showed the most neural activity, and the participants who used AI tools showed the least.
Moreover, this experiment continued for a couple of weeks, and each time the AI essay writers became lazier, putting in less effort into their work.
Also, the essays they generated with AI were very similar to each other, and the participants felt less connected to their work.
Now, what’s more interesting is that, after three sessions, they called in the participants for a fourth time. But this time, they switched things up.
People who used AI to write essays were asked to write the same essays they had written before, but without AI. And the people who wrote essays with no tools were told to use AI.
The people who used AI before were struggling to write the essays they had written before, barely remembering what they had written. On the other hand, people who used no tool before did great this time too.
So, what’s the conclusion the researchers at MIT drew from this?
The people who used AI tools showed less brain activity and really struggled when they were told not to use AI.
This is kinda like when US citizens started eating cheap, ultra-processed food and got physically obese. Now, if you rely on AI to do simple tasks like writing essays, you are slowly getting mentally obese.
That means your brain is not “moving” as much as it should, and as a result, it’s negatively impacting your memory and learning ability.
Now, the MIT study is not the first study on what AI is doing to our brains. There is another study on PMC on a similar topic that says, over-reliance on AI tools can reduce our ability to think critically, a condition they called “Cognitive Atrophy.”
AI tools like ChatGPT talk to you like a friend, answer your questions ASAP, and act like a human to offer you mental support. So, in most cases, when you are using tools like ChatGPT or Gemini, you are not thinking much, just accepting the data they give you.
Now, that’s not the case when you interact with a regular human or a search engine. If a random guy from Reddit or a blog you found in Google SERP tells you to do something, you probably would think twice.
So, the more you use AI, the less you think. And the less you think, your neurons become weaker, negatively impacting your critical thinking ability.
There’s another article on Vox about how over-reliance on AI tools can shape your brain.
So, the bottom line is, while AI is not making us dumb (yet), it is making our brains weaker. In the future, we might be the humans who were in the spaceship in WALL-E. Unable to move and do anything by themselves, but mentally. Or maybe even physically, too, who knows.
How Do We Stop the AI “Brain-Drain”?
To stop the AI brain-drain, there’s only one thing you gotta do: use your brain (duh!).
But does that mean we should stop using AI? No, we should not.
AI is definitely the future, and it is here to stay, like it or not. AI is already a part of our day-to-day lives, and it’s gonna take up more space.
So, how should we use AI and still keep our brains active?
Let’s go back to the MIT experiment. Remember, when people who used their brains to write their essays used AI, they showed better neural activity? What’s that about?
It means we just have to prioritize using our brains that use AI. Let your brain do what it was created to do: Think. Don’t let AI think or make decisions for you.
The AI brain-drain is not ChatGPT’s fault; it’s ours. The problem is not in using AI tools; it’s relying on AI all the freaking time.
So, here are 4 tips I have for you to avoid brain drain while using AI:
01. Implement a “Brain First” Policy
No matter what you want to do, don’t open your preferred AI tool right off the bat.
Calm down. Think about it for a bit. Try to find a solution by yourself first.
For example, if you want to write an essay, Google the topic. See how other people wrote the same essay. Maybe create the outline in your mind, get a basic idea first.
When you have a clear understanding of the topic, use AI to do the tedious tasks.
02. Practice Critical Thinking
When you are using AI to do anything, question the information it’s serving you. Do a quick fact check. Remember, AI tools can and do make mistakes.
Instead of blindly copying and pasting AI-generated work, verifying the information can improve your work and your brain functionality.
03. Learn How AI Works and Its Limitations
Instead of using AI mindlessly, learning how it works and its limitations can make you better at using it, while keeping your brain active.
This helps you ask better questions, spot weak or biased answers, and avoid relying on it too much. Knowing its limits also lets you use it as a tool to support your thinking, not replace it. In the long run, this keeps your brain active and sharp, while still letting you benefit from what AI offers.
04. Limit AI Usage
If you have already become too dependent on using AI, use should try and restrict AI usage for a certain time per day.
Either you can use AI for a limited time, like an hour a day, or you can avoid using AI for certain tasks, like coding.
If you slowly start to detox your brain from AI usage, hopefully, you will slowly regain your neural efficiency.
AI Is Just a Tool (No, Not Really)
I don’t fully agree with people who say, “AI is just a tool.” It’s already too powerful and influential to be called just a tool.
But that doesn’t mean we should give up our own thinking every time we use it. Yes, time and efficiency matter, but your brain is even more valuable.
So, before turning to AI, take a moment to try it yourself first.
