Is ChatGpt Making You Dumb? MIT Study Raises Concerns – OnlyMyHealth

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With Artificial Intelligence (AI) becoming an integral part of daily life, how is our growing reliance on Large Language Models (LLMs) shaping human cognition?
ChatGpt and other AI models are the real world manifestation of Aladin’s Lamp. In the stories, our main character Aladin would rub his device and a genie would appear granting any wish the boy had. Maybe not as adventurous, but ChatGpt does the same thing for us these days. You enter a command and there it is, in a matter of seconds, your essay is complete, your report has the statistics and your wife has a love letter. But what happens to your thinking abilities when you rely on Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGpt for longer periods of time? A recent MIT research might have the answer, and it is not one you would like.
A recent study by the Media Lab at MIT found that prolonged use of ChatGPT, an LLM) chatbot, can have a harmful impact on the cognitive abilities of its users. The study also points out how the over-reliance on AI can render your brain passive and diminish your ability to think critically.  While ChatGPT users reported ease in the access of information, the convenience came at a huge cost.  “This convenience came at a cognitive cost, diminishing users’ inclination to critically evaluate the LLM’s output or ‘opinions,” the report said. The team of researchers also were apprehensive about the algorthym bias of LLMs. They feared that ChatGpt’s response was often curated according to ‘what was trending’ and the user’s past interactions, which made it susceptible to hallucination.

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A total of 54 participants, all aged between 18 to 39, were divided into three groups to write typical Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) essays. One group was given access to ChatGPT; the second one could use Google’s search engine; and the last group had to entirely depend on their mind. With the help of an electroencephalogram (EEG) the researchers  measured the participants’ neural activities across 32 regions of the brain. “EEG revealed significant differences in brain connectivity: Brain-only participants exhibited the strongest, most distributed networks; Search Engine users showed moderate engagement; and LLM users displayed the weakest connectivity,” the study concluded. The researchers also found out that over the course of several months, ChatGPT users became increasingly less diligent in their work, often just cutting and pasting whatever the chatbot fed them and a considerable decline in their critical thinking abilities and work ethic was noticed.
Neha Mehta, an author, AI expert, UN Advisor and Fintech, AI & Sustainability Leader, suggests a judicious use of AI, rather than solely relying on generative AI. She warns that frequent AI assistance encourages shallow repetition and narrower idea sets, echoing online echo-chamber effects . “We should propose delaying tool access until learners build foundational thinking skills and teaching explicit strategies for strategic, sparing use. This study by MIT positions AI as a supplement that should follow, not replace, self-driven reasoning, aiming to protect critical inquiry while still leveraging efficiency gains,” she adds.

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Conclusion

Experts believe that generative AI is still in its infancy and would only get more advanced with time. However, it is imperative to use AI where necessary and not treat it as Aladin’s lamp, and rub it at the slightest inconvenience.

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