Is AI making our brains lazy?

RTÉ News​

a day ago

Have you ever googled something but couldn't remember the answer a short time later?
Well, you're probably not alone.
Multiple studies have shown that "digital amnesia" or the "Google effect" is a consequence of having information readily available at our fingertips.
It happens because we don't commit the information to memory in the knowledge that we can easily look it up again.
According to The Decision Lab, this bias exists not only for things we look up on internet search engines but for most information that is easily accessible on our computers or phones.
For example, most of us can't remember friends, family members or work colleagues' phone numbers by heart.
So how can we help our brains to remember information?
"Writing is thinking," said Professor Barry O'Sullivan from the School of Computer Science & IT at UCC.
Professor O'Sullivan believes there are learning benefits associated with Large Language Models (LLMs), but his view is that we should be applying a precautionary principle to them as its such early days.
"If you're not the one doing the writing then you're not the one doing the thinking, so if you're a student or you're the employee, the writing really does need to be yours," he said.
LLMs with chatbots or virtual assistant chatbots such as Gemini or ChatGPT, have been trained on enormous amounts of text and data and their systems are capable of understanding and generating human language.
With these rapid advances in AI certain tasks are now easier, and when used effectively can save time and money, in our personal and working lives.
However, there are concerns about critical thinking, creativity and problem solving.
Some AI companies claim their models are capable of genuine reasoning, but there's ongoing debate over whether their "chain of thought" or "reasoning" is trustworthy.
According to Professor Barry O'Sullivan, these claims "just aren't true."
"These large language models don't reason the same way as human beings," he said.
"They have pretty weak abilities to reason mathematically, to reason logically, so it really is the big stepping stone, but it's always been the big stepping stone in AI." he added.
He cautions people and workers to use these tools as an assistant, and as a sometimes "unreliable assistant".
Professor O'Sullivan also warns AI generated answers could contain a biased view of the world, that is when human brain power is needed to apply sense, reasoning and logic to the data.
The Google Search Engine was launched in 1998 and is considered a narrow form of AI.
Since then, there have been many studies highlighting how the "Google Effect" is a real phenomenon and its impact on how we remember and learn.
Launches such as Open AI's chatbot ChatGPT, and more recently Google's AI Overviews and AI Mode search are all relatively new, meaning there has been less time to study the effects.
A new study by researchers at the media lab at Massachusetts institute of Technology (MIT) "Your Brain on ChatGPT", divided 54 people aged 18 to 39 into three groups to write essays.
One group used Open AI's ChatGPT, one used Google's Search Engine, and the remaining group used no tools; they had to rely purely on brain power.
While it was a very small study and in a very specific location (Boston), it found that of the three groups, ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement.
While in the brain-only group, researchers found they were more engaged and curious, and claimed ownership and expressed higher satisfaction with their essays.
The study suggests the use of LLMs, such as ChatGPT which is what they used but is similar to other LLMs, could actually harm learning, especially for younger users.
"The MIT study is one source, but there isn't any definitive evidence of that, however the growing amount of evidence does seem to be tipping on that side of the argument that the more we rely on very sophisticated reasoning systems that can automate the process of writing, the less we are thinking," said Professor O'Sullivan.
"People should remember that writing is thinking, so when you when you give up the writing to somebody else, you're not thinking anymore and that does have a consequence."
Is digital dependence shaping our brains?
Whether in education or in the workplace, the use of AI is becoming increasingly prevalent.
In a nutshell it does appear to be shaping our brains, but the debate continues over whether it's happening in a negative or a positive way.
As a professor in UCC, Mr O'Sullivan ponders over whether table quizzes are as popular as they used to be, and how young people view need-to-know information.
"You often hear students saying, "Well I don't really need to know that because if I was out on the job I'd Google it, and wouldn't that be just fine?"
"It is to some extent fine for some pieces of information, but it's also important to know why the information is that way, or what the origin is, or why things are that way," Professor O'Sullivan said.
There is a skill shift happening with how we and our brains engage with new technology.
This is why human judgement and decision making is more important than ever according to Claire Cogan, behavioural scientist and founder of Behaviour Wise.
"There is an effect (from AI) on how the brain learns, so there's an impact on brain health. Some of that is relevant to employers, and its very relevant to individuals," said Ms Cogan.
AI is useful in the workplace when it can automate mundane or time-consuming tasks such as generating content and extracting key points from large amounts of data.
Ms Cogan noted the theory is when people talk about the pluses and minuses, AI should free up time to allow people to do other things.
"So as long as that balance is there, it's a good thing. If that balance isn't there, then it's simply going to have a negative impact," she stated.
Referring to the MIT study, she assessed it found evidence that using AI can slow attention and have an impact on the working memory.
"The brain will go for shortcuts, if there's an easier way to get to something, that's the way the brain will choose," said Ms Cogan.
"However, there are still areas where human intelligence far outweighs anything AI can do, particularly around judgment and decision making, and they're going to become more and more important," she stated.
"That's the side driven by people, so there's a whole new skill where people are going to have to learn how to judge when to use AI, how to use it, how to direct it, and how to manage it," she said.
Does reliance on AI impact on critical thinking in the workplace?
Since the late 90s people have been using search engines to find facts.
With the advances and sophistication of AI people are becoming more wary, with real concerns about misinformation, disinformation and deep fakes.
So while we are relying on AI tools to help find information, it's more important than ever that we engage core human skills in terms of decision making.
Ms Cogan believes in an ideal world teachers and lecturers would be almost preparing people for what is going to happen in five or more years.
"It's a particular skill to know when and when not to use AI, just teaching the value in decision making because ultimately the overall goal or the aim is defined by the person. There is a skill to making a good decision, and in a work context to know how to arrive at the best decision, that in itself is a whole topic in behavioural science," she said.
What's next for our brains?
"For our own sake, we need to nurture our brains and we need to look after our brain health," said Ms Cogan.
"The best way we can do that is by remaining actively involved in that whole learning process," she said.
The authors of the MIT study urged media to avoid certain vocabulary when talking about the paper and impact of generative AI on the brain.
These terms included "brain scans", "LLMs make you stop thinking", "impact negatively", "brain damage" and "terrifying findings".
It is very early days when it comes to learning about how these technological advances will impact on us in the long term.
Maybe in the near future, AI will be able to summarise and analyse data from upcoming studies to tell us if it is rewiring our brains or making them lazy.