Just read MIT’s viral 150-page study on how ChatGPT affects our brains. TL;DR: When we outsource thinking to AI, our brains actually work less.
How the study worked:
54 top students split into 3 groups:
1️⃣ Used only ChatGPT to write essays
2️⃣ Used Google & web, but no ChatGPT
3️⃣ Wrote essays using only their own brains
All sessions tracked by EEG to measure brain activity.
Key findings:
“Brain-only” group had the highest neural activity.
Search group was in the middle.
ChatGPT users? Lowest activity.
83% of ChatGPT users couldn’t remember or quote their own essays a minute after writing them (!)
Half said the text didn’t feel like “theirs.”
Switching from ChatGPT to brain-only, their neural activity dropped—almost like their brain forgot how to think deeply.
LLM group did more generic, less creative essays—but ChatGPT gave them the highest grades (lol).
The more you let AI think for you, the less your brain connects the dots. The only group fully satisfied with their writing? Those who used the web, not AI.
Original study: arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872
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