It’s nearing midnight. You’ve been putting off this assignment for nearly a week now, and the due date is imminent. There are instructions to be read, research to be done, the dreaded free response questions looming over your Friday night. As the minutes tick by, you’re desperate for a way out. You click open a new tab and enter the words that many before you have entered: ChatGPT. The prompt, the questions, everything is instantly synthesized for you, a complete product in a matter of seconds. You copy and paste the responses and hit submit, the weight finally off your shoulders.
But what really just happened? It seems like you simply saved yourself from an all-nighter, but the truth is much scarier. A recent study conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) shows that use of ChatGPT and similar AI chatbots can have serious effects on cognition. The study divided participants into three groups: one who used ChatGPT to write, one who used Google, and one who could rely only on their own knowledge. Over the course of four essays, researchers discovered that those using AI displayed much lower levels of brain activity than the other two groups.
These participants represent the reality of many college students today. Since their inception, LLMs have been presented to us as tools to aid learning. With “tutoring” settings and AI assistants popping up on almost every academic platform, we have been downright encouraged to use AI for our schoolwork. As of 2026, you can’t even make a simple Google search without engaging with the questionable accuracy of Gemini. The effort it requires to avoid interacting with AI makes it only natural that students should fall into the trap.
But not only is it impossible to sidestep, the mindsets that support AI-assisted learning are introduced from the jump. Public schools, though outwardly resistant to it, are a breeding ground for pro-AI mentalities. With standardized tests playing a role in government funding, students are reduced to data points as early as kindergarten. Cultivating a love of learning is no longer a priority, with productivity and a strong end result taking its place. Under these conditions, AI is the ultimate solution to a student’s problems. They can be more efficient and accurate (though that point is debatable) with almost no effort. But at what cost?
The tedious assignments that are most often fed into AI have a very important purpose. Engaging with different disciplines and perspectives gives you skills you will use every day, even if that’s hard to believe at 11:59 PM. Critical thinking and problem-solving are essential, no matter what your life goals are, and these are the main skills being lost to the rise of AI. When you use a chatbot, even just for brainstorming ideas, your brain’s “muscles” begin to weaken. Without frequent use, you run the risk of losing your cognitive strength.
This idea is further supported by findings at MIT. As the study progressed, researchers noticed a marked change in the AI-using group. By their third essay, they were more likely to copy and paste a full piece of writing from ChatGPT than use it for editing or research purposes. For their final essay, the groups were swapped and given a repeat prompt. Those who were using AI were now left to rewrite a previous essay on their own but were almost completely unable to recall the information they had used. Using AI doesn’t just have impacts in the moment, it fundamentally changes the way you approach tasks.
Even outside of these more abstract effects, AI can have a significant impact on your education and future in the workforce. With the average student in the U.S. paying nearly $40,000 a year for higher education, outsourcing your learning to AI simply isn’t cost effective. A degree doesn’t just confirm that you passed your required courses, it implies that you have a deep understanding of your field. Human beings bring a nuanced perspective to the table that machines just simply cannot replicate. The insight that you, as an educated professional, can bring to the workforce is infinitely more valuable than the recycled work of a robot.
Fundamentally, ChatGPT only regurgitates the knowledge that we have put on the internet. These resources are right at our fingertips, and there are real benefits to finding them ourselves. To return to the MIT study one last time, the “middle” group, who was allowed to use a search engine to aid in their writing, still did significantly better than the group who used AI. By combing through sources for themselves, this group effectively synthesized information and demonstrated significant brain engagement.
ChatGPT, and other LLMs like it, are marketed to us as the “next big thing,” akin to the car, the telephone, or the computer. And while we can’t say for certain how they will change our lives, we can make the choice to not let them ruin our minds. The importance of critical thinking, especially in our rapidly changing world, cannot be understated. The foundations of our cognition are maintained each and every day, with every essay written, source examined, and assignment completed the old-fashioned way. So, resist the temptation, for the good of your mind – and mankind.