Is that a lack of artificial intelligence?
Not only are AIs getting terribly smarter, we might be making idiots too.
According to a new study in dystopia at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, scientists found that students who used chatgpt to complete their essays had lower cognitive skills than students who rely solely on the brain.
“Reliance on AI systems can lead to a passive approach and reduce the activation of critical thinking skills.
The team was embarking on determining the “cognitive costs” of using large-scale language models (LLMs) that are increasingly ubiquitous in all areas of society, including academia. According to a Winter Survey from the Pew Research Center, approximately 26% of teenage students used AI chatbots to help with their 2024 challenges.
To determine how the use of synthetic homework assistants affects the mind, MIT researchers have appointed 54 people to write several SAT essays, Time Magazine reported. Participants were divided into three groups. One relied on pure brain power, one using Google, and one third sought help from the now unified LLM ChatGPT.
Each person was equipped with an EEG device so that researchers could monitor brain activity while completing tasks.
They found that the ChatGpt group was “worse than the counterparts of the brain-only group at all levels,” according to The Telegraph.
Measurements also showed reduced activity in areas of the brain associated with memory and learning, the authors said many “thinking and planning were offloaded.”
In fact, Ai-Aided Scholars got lazy to the point of entering the prompt into ChatGpt in each subsequent paper, and in the third essay, he had to do all the work.
“It said, 'Give me an essay, refined this sentence, edited it, and I'm done.'”
In contrast, essayists without external assistance demonstrated the highest level of neural connectivity, especially in the brain regions that cause language comprehension, creativity and memory.
The brain-only group was more involved and satisfied with their essays, according to the study.
Interestingly, Google Group showed a slightly lower level of engagement, but showed the same amount of recall. This is probably awkward prospect considering the growing number of people jumping into research using AI rather than internet search engines.
The researchers speculated that “often AI tool users bypass deeper engagement with materials, leading to “skill atrophy” in tasks such as brainstorming and problem solving.”
The authors said there could be long-term impacts, such as “reduced critical research, increased vulnerability to manipulation” and “decreased creativity.”
Fortunately, the findings were not a complete prosecution of AI in academia.
As a follow-up trial, scientists asked the CHATGPT group and its brain-only counterparts to rewrite one of their previous essays, while AI-assisted participants did so without a chatbot, while unassisted groups were able to use cutting-edge technology.
Naturally, the original ChatGpt group did not recall much information from their papers.
Meanwhile, the previous brain-only group showed a significant increase in brain activity in all the aforementioned regions despite using the tool.
It suggests that, if used properly, AI could become a useful academic tool rather than a cognitive disruptive crutch.
The warning about AI-induced brain atrophy is somewhat frightening as the technology is becoming more “intelligent.”
Recently, Chinese researchers have discovered the first ever evidence of AI models like chatgpt process information, as well as the human mind, especially when it comes to language grouping.
