Latest news with #MediaLab
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Science
- BBC News
The Inquiry Is AI eroding our critical thinking?
More and more of the tasks we perform in our daily lives are been guided by artificial intelligence, from searching the internet for answers to relying on satellite navigation in our cars. But studies recently released suggest that our use of AI is having a negative impact on our ability to make informed judgements and decisions. In one recent study from MiT's Media Lab, a group of people were asked to write several essays. Some of them used AI, others didn't. Those who used generative AI reportedly became lazier with each subsequent essay. This cognitive offloading, allowing AI to take over from our brains might be less taxing, but there are concerns that if we come to rely on AI, we are in danger of replacing our own critical thinking for a technology that might not always come up with the right answer. However, there are those who argue that AI can be beneficial in helping our cognitive function, that it can be employed to take on the more mundane, repetitive tasks, freeing up headspace to allow us to become more productive. Software education platforms are just one example where AI is been employed to assist teachers in things like knowledge checks and grading, with the claim that it allows them time for more valuable interaction with their students. So is it possible to find a balance where we can we can rely on AI but not to the extent were we lose our mental agility. On this week's Inquiry, we're asking "Is AI eroding our critical thinking?' Contributors: Dr. Daniel Willingham, Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia, USA Dr. Michael Gerlich, Professor of Management, SBS Swiss Business School, Zurich, Switzerland Yvonne Soh, Co-founder and CEO, Noodle Factory, Singapore Sana Khareghani, Professor of Practice in AI, AI Policy Lead for Responsible AI UK Programme, King's College, London Presenter: Tanya Beckett Producer: Jill Collins Researcher: Maeve Schaffer Editor: Tara McDermott Technical Producer: Craig Boardman Production Co-ordinator: Tammy Snow Production Management Assistant: Liam Morrey
Time of India
01-07-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Brains on autopilot: MIT study warns AI is eroding human thought, Here's how to stay intellectually alive
AI-generated representative image Inventions have redefined the very existence of humankind, challenging us to alter the way we think, learn, and live. The printing press etched history in bold letters. Calculators reshaped arithmetic. Now, artificial intelligence has entered the scene, permeating every niche of human life and painting it with a palette of new possibilities. Yet, like every groundbreaking invention, this too carries its fair share of repercussions. But what happens when the very tools built to extend the human mind begin to replace it? The answer is unsettling: it produces a generation with crippled thinking abilities. A profound transition is already underway, one that, like an asymptomatic disease, may erupt into a full-blown cognitive pandemic in the years ahead. Generative AI systems like ChatGPT promise instant answers, elegant prose, and streamlined tasks. But we now stand on the precipice of bidding adieu to creativity. Beneath the sheen of this alluring technology lies a deeper question: Are we keeping our thinking abilities on the shelf, and completely forgetting how to think? A striking study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has surfaced some troubling trends. And no, it's not good news for the next generation. Inside the MIT study: The brain on ChatGPT Computer scientist Nataliya Kosmyna and her team at MIT's Media Lab set out to investigate whether heavy reliance on AI tools like ChatGPT alters the way our brains function. The experiment involved 60 college students aged 18 to 39, who were assigned to write short essays using one of three methods: ChatGPT, Google Search, or no external tools at all. Equipped with EEG headsets to monitor their neural activity, participants crafted essays in response to prompts like 'Should we always think before we speak?' The results? Students who wrote without any assistance demonstrated the highest levels of cognitive engagement, showing strong neural connectivity across brain regions responsible for memory, reasoning, and decision-making. They thought harder and more deeply. By contrast, ChatGPT users showed the lowest neural activity. Their thinking was fragmented, their recall impaired, and their essays often lacked originality. Many participants could not even remember what they had written, clear evidence that the information had not been internalised. AI hadn't just helped them write. It had done the writing for them. Their brains had taken a backseat. The risk of outsourcing thought The cognitive offloading, as the researchers have named it, is not about the convenience, it is about the control. The more we allow machines to handle the hard segments of thinking, the less frequently we are exercising our brain muscles for critical thinking, creativity, and memory formation. Over time, these muscles can weaken. When participants who initially used ChatGPT were later asked to write without it, their brain activity increased, but it never met the levels of those who had worked independently from the start. It provided a clear inference that the potential for deep thinking is on the verge of erosion. Tools reflect intent, not intelligence It is usually the invention that is treated as a scapegoat, but more than that, it depends on the way we use it. The problem is not the tool, but how we decide to put it to use. As one teacher once said, 'Every tool carries with it a story, not of what it is, but how it is used.' AI, like a pair of scissors, is brilliant in design, but only when built with everyone in mind. For decades, scissors excluded left-handed children, not because the tool was faulty, but because its design lacked inclusivity. AI shares no different story. There are two roads: it can either democratise education or further deepen inequality. It can hone creativity or dull it. Our actions will decide which road we are pushing our next generation to traverse. According to the World Bank, students from disadvantaged backgrounds are 50% less likely to access AI-powered learning tools compared to their peers (World Bank, 2024). And as UNESCO's 2024 Global Education Monitoring Report reveals, nearly 40% of teachers worldwide fear being replaced by machines. But those outcomes are not the fault of AI. They're the result of how we've chosen to implement it. Used well, AI can elevate learning When utilised cautiously, AI can still elevate the quality of education. A study by Mc Kinsey Global Institute has shown that personalised learning with the help of AI tools can bolster a student's performance by 30%. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD 2022) study shared similar findings, adding weight to the stance by stating that it can mitigate teacher workloads, critical, given that educators spend 50% of their time on administrative duties. In rural India, digital initiatives like National Digital Education Architecture (NDEAR) aim to use AI to reach over 250 million school-age children who lack access to quality teachers. However, even in a world driven and dominated by artificial intelligence, the human element in learning cannot be substituted. The struggle for reflection, the delight of discovery dwell at the heart of human learning. As it is said, we must begin with the end in mind. Are we cultivating a cohort of students to complete the tasks, or ones who can think beyond limits and add meaning? 'AI is already born. We must learn to co-exist.' In a conversation with The Times of India, Siddharth Rajgarhia, Chief Learner and Director of DPS, said it emphatically: 'AI is already born; we cannot keep it back in the womb. It is important to learn to co-exist with the guest and keep our human element alive.' That co-existence begins by redefining the role of AI, not as a shortcut, but as a companion in the learning journey. Here's how educators and students can stay intellectually alive in the age of automation: Think before you prompt : Encourage students to brainstorm ideas independently before turning to AI. Reclaim authorship : Every AI-assisted draft should be critically revised and fully owned by the student. Foster metacognition : Teach learners to reflect on how they think, not just what they produce. Center equity in design : Ensure tools are accessible to all learners, not just the digitally privileged few. Use AI to deepen, not replace, curiosity : Let it challenge assumptions, not hand out ready answers. Final thought: Let AI assist, but let humans lead The brain was never meant to idle. It was designed to wrestle with complexity, to stumble and reframe, to wonder and imagine. When we surrender that process to machines—when we allow AI to become the default setting for thought—we risk losing more than creativity. We risk losing cognitive ownership. The human brain was never made to sit idle. It is designed to grapple with complexity, to stumble and reframe, to wonder and imagine. When we hand over that task to machines, we allow AI to become the default setting for thought; we are losing more than creativity. We are keeping at stake our cognitive ownership, our voices, and our opinions. When we forget to think, we let go of the very power of being human. AI is not the negative protagonist or a bane here. We need to understand that it amplifies our intentions, good or bad, lazy or inspired. The future of learning and the workplace does not depend on the fastest prompt or smartest algorithm. It stands on the shoulders of the brightest minds who have kept their curiosity intact and who resist easy answers. At the core of learning lie educators who remind us that the goal of education is not just knowledge, it is wisdom. We so wish that prompts could generate wisdom and a human element. Alas, they cannot. It needs to be developed by the vanguards of imagination. Is your child ready for the careers of tomorrow? Enroll now and take advantage of our early bird offer! Spaces are limited.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
ChatGPT could affect your critical thinking skills, study finds
MIT researchersconducted a study analyzing the impact using ChatGPT in writing tasks can have on brain activity. The study is part ofMIT's Media Lab project called"Your Brain on ChatGPT," which is designed to assess the cognitive effect of relying on large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT when authoring essays. Dig deeper Approximately 54 people between the ages of 18 and 39 participated in the study. The individuals were divided into three groups to compose several essays. RELATED: ChatGPT may be smart enough to graduate law school One group was allowed to use ChatGPT; the second, Google search; and the third, no AI tools at all. An electroencephalography (EEG) headset was used by the participants while writing to measure the participants' brain activity across 32 regions of the brain. Each patient drafted essays in three sessions and in a fourth session, some participants were reassigned. The individuals who used ChatGPT transitioned to writing unaided (called "LLM-to-Brain") while some who started the brain-only exercise used the LLM ("Brain-to-LLM") RELATED: ChatGPT outperformed doctors in diagnostic accuracy, study reveals The participants' essays were scored by both human teachers and an AI judge, and at the conclusion of the assignment, each person was interviewed following the sessions with researchers asking them about how much they felt they owned their writing. Researchers determined that of the three groups in the study, the ChatGPT users experienced the lowest brain engagement. The team concluded that their study has limitations that they document in their report and website and that more research is needed to better understand the use of ChatGPT in various parts of daily life. The Source Information for this story was provided by an MIT study, which is part of the MIT Media project "Your Brain on ChatGPT." This story was reported from Washington, D.C.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Is Using ChatGPT to Write Your Essay Bad for Your Brain?
TIME reporter Andrew Chow discussed the findings of a new study about how ChatGPT affects critical thinking with Nataliya Kosymyna. Kosymyna was part of a team of researchers at MIT's Media Lab who set out to determine whether ChatGPT and large language models (LLMs) are eroding critical thinking, and the study returned some concerning results. The study divided 54 subjects into three groups, and asked them to write several essays using OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's search engine, and nothing at all, respectively. Researchers used an EEG to record the writers' brain activity. What they found was that of the three groups, the ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement and consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic and behavioral levels. Over the course of several months, the ChatGPT users got lazier with each subsequent essay, often resorting to copy and paste. Contact us at letters@
Time Magazine
27-06-2025
- Science
- Time Magazine
Is Using ChatGPT to Write Your Essay Bad for Your Brain?
TIME reporter Andrew Chow discussed the findings of a new study about how ChatGPT affects critical thinking with Nataliya Kosymyna. Kosymyna was part of a team of researchers at MIT's Media Lab who set out to determine whether ChatGPT and large language models (LLMs) are eroding critical thinking, and the study returned some concerning results. The study divided 54 subjects into three groups, and asked them to write several essays using OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's search engine, and nothing at all, respectively. Researchers used an EEG to record the writers' brain activity. What they found was that of the three groups, the ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement and consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic and behavioral levels. Over the course of several months, the ChatGPT users got lazier with each subsequent essay, often resorting to copy and paste.
