Researchers at MIT’s Media Lab published a new study on June 10 regarding the cognitive effects of using AI for essay writing tasks. The researchers used an EEG (electroencephalogram), a test that measures electrical signals in the brain, to capture brain activity while participants wrote with and without AI. ChatGPT users were found to have the lowest brain engagement scores; the users “consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic and behavioral levels.”
The study revealed a pattern that teachers across the world had already identified. Over 70 percent of teachers worry AI usage threatens critical thinking and reasoning skills. The degradation of skill can be likened to muscle atrophy, a phenomenon of thinning or loss of muscles, that comes from disuse.
Experts everywhere are afraid. While further reliance on AI tools like ChatGPT or Google Gemini can reduce mental burdens, it can also lead to diminished critical engagement. As these tools progress, people are forced to choose between efficiency and independent thought.
At the high school level, this tradeoff expresses itself in situations where students exclusively use AI for tasks in class. “I’ve noticed some students use AI for writing opinion essays, it’s awful that they can’t write what they think,” said Sociology teacher Mr. Zahn.
In relatively creative subjects like English, teachers fear the effects of overuse of AI on tasks, “We know that reading and writing are good for brain health. Heavy usage of AI robs us of the opportunity to give our brains the ‘workouts’ needed for growth and development. Writing is thinking made visible. By outsourcing writing, we are outsourcing our thinking. This makes us less competent with problem-solving and communication.” said English teacher Jenni Levora.
Additionally, AI is homogenizing how humans write and speak. Vocabulary is becoming increasingly structured, erasing the eccentricities and quirks that give people their unique voice in writing. Even those not using AI are affected as the text society consumes becomes an undetectable mix of synthetic and human words.
According to some studies, YouTubers have used words favored by ChatGPT, 51 percent more since the introduction of the tool. Additionally, Facebook Marketplace listings are on average 54 words longer in accordance with AI’s tendency to create flowery speech.
The trend is scary when considering how children might be taught to write and read in the future. “We learn from each other and our connections. Do we really all want to sound and think the same?” questioned English teacher Angie Staber.
Students are forced to make a choice every time they are given an assignment. AI use may seem easy and undetectable. However, it risks losing one’s voice and character in writing and speech. Moreover, it threatens to diminish the students’ learning capabilities.
People remember generational authors and lyricists for their work since their personal voice shines through. It is the creativity and personality of words that are remembered. While AI software may be able to replicate the em dashes used by Emily Dickinson, it will never be able to mirror its magic.
