Does ChatGPT dull your thinking skills? New MIT study shows why brains of youngsters are at risk
The study divided 54 subjects — 18 to 39-year-olds from the Boston area — into three groups, and asked them to write several essays using OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's search engine or nothing at all, respectively. Researchers used an EEG to record the writers' brain activity across 32 regions, and found that of the three groups, ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement. They 'consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic and behavioural levels.' Over the course of several months, ChatGPT users got lazier with each subsequent essay, often resorting to copy-and-paste by the end of the study.
How does reliance on ChatGPT impact the brain?
When individuals rely heavily on AI to generate content or answers, they tend to 'offload' cognitive efforts to the AI. This means they engage less in deep, reflective thinking, analysis and independent problem-solving. This may weaken the brain's ability to perform these tasks independently over time.
The MIT study also noted that essays written with ChatGPT lacked original content and often consisted of copied and pasted responses with minimal editing. Users also reported a fragmented sense of authorship and difficulty recalling what they had written, suggesting a lack of internal integration with the material.
How does over reliance on ChatGPT impact memory?
Participants who used ChatGPT struggled to recall their own work, even when later asked to rewrite essays without the tool. This indicates that the information was not being deeply processed or integrated into their memory networks.
This happens because of the reduced inclination to critically evaluate the AI's output. This can also lead to an 'echo chamber effect' where thoughts are subtly shaped by AI's probabilistic guesses based on its training data rather than independent reasoning.
Why ChatGPT at best be a complementary learning tool
Earlier studies have shown how AI, when used as a complement to human thinking rather than a replacement, enhances learning. In the MIT study, too, it was seen that the 'brain-only' group, when later given access to ChatGPT for a rewrite, demonstrated increased cognitive activity, implying that AI can be beneficial if foundational thinking is already in place.
The consensus seems to be that AI tools like ChatGPT are powerful assistants, but they should not become 'cognitive crutches.' The integration of AI in education necessitates the cultivation of new competencies, including the ability to discern the limitations and potential biases of AI-generated content and to use AI tools effectively as aids in one's critical thinking processes.
(Dr Ajinkya is psychiatrist, Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai)
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
"Don't Trust That Much": OpenAI CEO Sam Altman Admits ChatGPT Can Be Wrong
Don't place unwavering trust in ChatGPT, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has warned. Speaking on the company's newly launched official podcast, Altman cautioned users against over-relying on the AI tool, saying that despite its impressive capabilities, it still frequently got things wrong. "People have a very high degree of trust in ChatGPT, which is interesting because, like, AI hallucinates," Altman said during a conversation with author and technologist Andrew Mayne. "It should be the tech that you don't trust that much." The techie spoke of a fundamental limitation of large language models (LLMs) - their tendency to "hallucinate" or generate incorrect information. He said that users should approach ChatGPT with healthy scepticism, as they would with any emerging technology. Comparing ChatGPT with traditional platforms like web search or social media, he pointed out that those platforms often modify user experiences for monetisation. "You can kinda tell that you are being monetised," he said, adding that users should question whether content shown is truly in their best interest or tailored to drive ad engagement. Altman did acknowledge that OpenAI may eventually explore monetisation options, such as transaction fee or advertisements placed outside the AI's response stream. He made it clear that any such efforts must be fully transparent and never interfere with the integrity of the AI's answers. "The burden of proof there would have to be very high, and it would have to feel really useful to users and really clear that it was not messing with the LLM's output," he said. He warned that compromising the integrity of ChatGPT's responses for commercial gain would be a "trust destroying moment." "If we started modifying the output, like the stream that comes back from the LLM, in exchange for who is paying us more, that would feel really bad. And I would hate that as a user," Altman said. Earlier this year, Sam Altman admitted that recent updates had made ChatGPT overly sycophantic and "annoying," following a wave of user complaints. The issue began after the GPT-4o model was updated to enhance both intelligence and personality, aiming to improve the overall user experience. The changes made the chatbot overly agreeable, leading some users to describe it as a "yes-man" rather than a thoughtful AI assistant.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Defeat of a ten year ban on state AI laws is a blow to tech industry
The defeat early Tuesday of a ban on state laws for artificial intelligence dealt a major blow to the tech industry on the verge of a policy a 99-1 vote, the Senate voted overwhelmingly to strike an amendment to the Republican economic policy package that would have imposed a decadelong moratorium on attempts to regulate AI by the before-sunrise vote was a win for consumer groups and Democrats, who had argued for weeks against the provision that they feared would remove any threat of oversight for the powerful AI industry."The Senate came together tonight to say that we can't just run over good state consumer protection laws ," Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said in a statement. "States can fight robocalls, deepfakes and provide safe autonomous vehicle laws."There are no federal laws regulating AI but states have enacted dozens of laws that strengthen consumer privacy, ban AI-generated child sexual abuse material and outlaw deepfake videos of political candidates. All but a handful of states have some laws regulating artificial intelligence in place. It is an area of deep interest: All 50 have introduced bills in the past year tied to the Senate's provision, introduced in the Senate by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sparked intense criticism by state attorneys general, child safety groups and consumer advocates who warned the amendment would give AI companies a clear runway to develop unproven and potentially dangerous proposed ban on state AI laws stemmed from a proposal championed by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. On May 22, the House's approved version of the bill included the "Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology Modernization Initiative," a 10-year moratorium on state AI Valley venture capital powerhouse Andreessen Horowitz and AI startups OpenAI and Anduril, a defense tech company, lobbied fiercely in favor of the amendment. They said it was too difficult for startups to comply with dozens of different state AI Trump administration also threw its support behind the proposal. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called the moratorium a critical policy to advance American leadership in AI."If we're serious about winning the AI race, we must prioritize investment and innovation," Lutnick posted on social media Sunday, it appeared more likely the AI amendment might go through after Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., reached a compromise with Cruz on a shorter moratorium of five years. But the compromise included language that many legal experts said could neuter existing state laws. Blackburn withdrew her amendment written with Cruz late Monday and introduced a motion to strike his original amendment."The Senate did the right thing today for kids, for families and for our future by voting to strip out the dangerous 10-year ban on state AI laws, which had no business being in a budget bill in the first place," Jim Steyer, CEO of the child safety group, Common Sense Media, said in a statement.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
3 hours ago
- Business Standard
Nothing Headphone 1 with KEF-engineered sound, spatial audio launched
Nothing has launched Headphone 1, its first over-ear audio product developed in collaboration with UK-based audio company KEF. The company said the headphones have been acoustically engineered by KEF to deliver a sound profile as the artist intended. Priced at Rs 19,999, the Nothing Headphone 1 features active noise cancelling (ANC), spatial audio with dynamic head tracking, and integration with OpenAI's ChatGPT and Nothing's own Essential Space. Nothing Headphone 1: Features and specifications In line with Nothing's signature transparent design language, the Headphone 1 features see-through elements on the earcups that reveal key internal components and acoustic chambers. Structural parts are reinforced with formed aluminium, while the earcups are lined with PU memory foam for comfort during extended use. At the core is a custom 40mm dynamic driver designed to move air freely for deeper bass and reduced distortion, said Nothing. The driver includes a nickel-plated diaphragm to ensure consistent output. Nothing said the drivers, acoustic chambers and accompanying software were tuned and audited in KEF's labs for a more natural and immersive audio experience. The Headphone 1 employs hybrid ANC using both feed-forward and feedback microphones. The system adapts in real time, scanning the environment every 600 milliseconds. It also includes a wear-detection system that monitors sound leakage between the earcup and ear canal every 1,875 milliseconds. Supporting spatial audio, the Headphone 1 offers a multi-dimensional soundstage with dynamic head tracking that keeps the audio centred as the wearer moves. A low-latency mode is also available for gaming. Connectivity options include support for LDAC Bluetooth codec for high-quality wireless audio. Users can also opt for wired listening through a USB-C port or a 3.5mm jack. In terms of battery performance, Nothing claims up to 35 hours of playback with ANC enabled, and up to 80 hours with ANC turned off. A five-minute charge is said to offer up to 2.4 hours of listening time with ANC active. With Headphone 1, Nothing is expanding its audio product lineup while maintaining its distinctive design and emphasis on user experience.
