MIT just dropped a scan study on ChatGPT users—and the findings are deeply alarming. Participants showed a 47% drop in neural connectivity. In simple terms, their brains were doing less actual thinking. 83.3% couldn't even remember lines from essays they wrote just minutes earlier. AI was doing the work, and their minds were switching off.
The study revealed that frequent AI users experienced a measurable decline in creative and critical thinking. Brain scans tracked alpha and beta waves—markers of real cognitive effort—and showed clear drops compared to non-users. Even worse, when chronic users were forced to write without AI, they performed worse than those who had never used it at all.
MIT researchers call this "cognitive debt." Every shortcut you take with AI racks up hidden costs in lost brain power. The more you rely on it, the more you weaken your own thinking.
The study revealed that frequent AI users experienced a measurable decline in creative and critical thinking. Brain scans tracked alpha and beta waves—markers of real cognitive effort—and showed clear drops compared to non-users. Even worse, when chronic users were forced to write without AI, they performed worse than those who had never used it at all.
MIT researchers call this "cognitive debt." Every shortcut you take with AI racks up hidden costs in lost brain power. The more you rely on it, the more you weaken your own thinking.
