Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task
"[R]esearchers examined how using ChatGPT for essay writing affects our brains and cognitive abilities. They divided participants into three groups: one using ChatGPT, one using search engines, and one using just their brains. Through EEG monitoring, interviews, and analysis of the essays, they explored how AI use impacts learning and cognitive engagement." Findings seem to "reflect[] the accumulation of cognitive debt, a condition in which repeated reliance on external systems like LLMs replaces the effortful cognitive processes required for independent thinking." Researchers argue that "these findings support an educational model that delays AI integration until learners have engaged in sufficient self-driven cognitive effort"
