That question lies at the heart of several recent research efforts into the interactions between human minds and AI chatbots. So far, the findings of these experiments suggest that relying on AI to lighten our cognitive workload may potentially undercut our own capabilities.
According to the authors of that study, their research provides “causative evidence” that relying on an AI for help reduces persistence and impairs unassisted performance. “People do not merely become worse at tasks, but they also stop trying,” they wrote. If these short-term effects persist with long-term use, then current AI systems “risk eroding the very human capabilities they are meant to support,” they added.
While these sorts of short-term thinking problems are worrying, some researchers say the greater concern is that, over time, people who rely too heavily on LLMs to do their thinking for them may gradually lose some of their ability to think deeply and critically for themselves.
These findings come at a time when policymakers are considering the potential benefits and harms of AI adoption.
Many of the possible pitfalls of AI overreliance revolve around a phenomenon neuroscientists call “cognitive offloading,” which refers to the use of external tools to support reasoning, remembering, and other mental processes.
While that evidence is far from conclusive, especially when it comes to the latest AI tools, Armitage says caution is warranted. “It feels as if we're entering a qualitatively different era with AI that seems more concerning than other digital thinking tools,” she says. “[AI] fosters the sense that it can replace the need for independent thinking, and there are clear indications that people are using it in this way—to bypass the need to develop new skill sets, write assignments or reports, make complex decisions, and so on.”
Some of Armitage’s work has examined cognitive offloading among kids. “This is mainly speculation, but I think it's reasonable to be concerned about children,” she said. “If excessive offloading is interfering with unaided cognitive abilities, then these negative consequences may be far worse for children, as many of these abilities are still developing.”
“I’m skeptical we’re harming our abilities with artificial intelligence,” says Sam Gilbert, a senior research fellow at University College London. “While there definitely is evidence that when people use cognitive tools they disengage their own cognitive processes, there’s also evidence that we re-engage these processes elsewhere.” For example, someone who relies on AI to compose an email or look up a piece of information may then devote that time and brainpower to some other, more meaningful task. “So it may be more of a rebalancing than a net loss."
He points out that many older forms of technology-supported cognitive offloading—such as relying on a calculator to do math work—also had people worried. But at least in the case of the calculator, research eventually revealed that the technology could actually augment learning and skill development—provided it was introduced in the right ways. “With calculators, we learned that you need an independent phase where you learn first without them,” he says. “There’s an argument that you need to build foundational skills before bringing in technology, and I think that might be similar with AI.”
Understanding how best to use these technologies
In his new book The Convenience Trap, the SBS Swiss Business School professor Michael Gerlich describes how many of the university students he teaches, as well as the business professionals he trains, now turn to AI chatbots for “anything and everything.”
Like other researchers who have published work on AI, Gerlich says the costs and benefits of these tools likely depend on how people use them.
Kosmyna, the MIT scientist, echoed many of his sentiments. “Before we all start using LLMs for everything—especially in educational contexts—we need to take more time to understand the best ways to use them,” she says.
“By introducing these tools, you’re toying with the brains of people, and really with the future,” she says. “You are messing with some of the most precious things we have, and to do that without understanding the effects is very dangerous.”
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