MIT Study Reveals Hidden Cognitive Costs of ChatGPT Use
What began as a simple tool to boost productivity has revealed a startling truth: heavy reliance on ChatGPT may be quietly rewiring our brains.
In a June 2025 preprint study from MIT’s Media Lab, researchers found that extended use of ChatGPT for writing tasks led to significant drops in brain activity linked to creativity and memory.
Tracking 54 participants split into groups using ChatGPT, search engines, or no tools at all, the study monitored brain engagement via EEG. The results showed ChatGPT users experienced nearly a 47% decline in neural connectivity compared to those writing unaided. Additionally, 83% of these users struggled to recall their own written sentences, and their output was described as mechanical and detached.
Even after ceasing AI use, participants showed lasting cognitive dulling, a phenomenon researchers call “cognitive debt”—the mental cost of offloading thinking to AI. This effect included decreased motivation, creativity, and linguistic complexity.
Experts warn this could undermine critical thinking and creativity, especially among students. The study underscores the importance of balancing AI assistance with active mental effort—using AI as a tool to complement, not replace, human cognition.
In essence, while AI can accelerate tasks, it risks weakening the very mental muscles that make learning and creativity possible.