Do you often use ChatGPT for your assignments, your work, or when you get curious about anything under the sun? If your answer is yes, well, you might want to reel it back a little bit.

A group of researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab investigated the effects of using ChatGPT on essay writing in an educational context, and the results unveiled a concerning issue. Here’s the gist of everything you need to know about the study.

The Study setup

In the study, the researchers divided the participants into three groups:

• The ChatGPT group – Participants who would use ChatGPT to write essays
• The Search Engine group – Participants who would use search engines to write essays
• The Brain-Only group – Participants who would write essays with no tool at all

Over four sessions, researchers asked participants to write essays on different topics to compare each group’s output and behavior with and without the help of ChatGPT.

The results: ChatGPT users scored the lowest

The results showed that ChatGPT Users significantly underperformed in several thinking tests compared to the participants who only used a search engine and those who used nothing at all.

The Brain-Only group produced the best work

In the tests, the Brain-Only group displayed the strongest brain connectivity and produced the best quality of work. The Search Engine group followed with a moderate performance, while the ChatGPT group ranked the lowest, showing the weakest connectivity and output.

Here’s what the researchers concluded:

ChatGPT can lower brain connectivity

Our brain needs to connect with each of its parts to function. The study revealed that our brain’s connectivity decreases when it relies on AI assistants like ChatGPT to complete a task.

The brain waves related to creative thinking, mental workload, and language comprehension diminish because they are being actively substituted by artificial intelligence instead of our own mental processes.

ChatGPT can weaken memory recall

In connection with lower neural connectivity, ChatGPT users were also found lacking in information reception, retention, and recall. When they were asked to rewrite their previous outputs, they were only able to recall a small portion of the content. Meanwhile, the Brain-Only group showed exceptional recall abilities.

ChatGPT can negatively impact curiosity and critical thinking

The ChatGPT group exhibited lower brain wave engagements associated with memory load processes. According to one of the study’s researchers, this can be rooted in how AI models affect how the participants engaged with information.

Students should be seeking information on their own, curiously examining the unknown, and asking questions about it. But ChatGPT robs learners of these opportunities because of how easy and fast you can retrieve knowledge.

ChatGPT can develop bad habits

In the latter parts of the study sessions, the researchers observed that the ChatGPT group consistently underperformed in “neural, linguistic, and behavioral areas”. The group developed observable bad habits, as they relied on copy-pasting information and made little effort to edit or incorporate their own thoughts into their work.

This can indicate that the increasing reliance on ChatGPT or other AI assistants can gradually dull a person’s capability to produce original thoughts in the long term.

ChatGPT works best as a supplement, not a substitute

In the last session, the researchers switched the group setups. They were tasked with rewriting their earlier topics, but this time, the ChatGPT group had to work without any AI assistance, while the Brain-Only group was allowed to use ChatGPT. The former ChatGPT users continued to underperform; meanwhile, the Brain-Only group showed even better results, marked with higher memory recall and greater brain connectivity.

What does this mean? This just shows that ChatGPT works best as a supplement for learning rather than a full-on information provider. AI in general can be a promising tool for learning, only if moderated and used in the right way.

Do you still see ChatGPT the same way? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!