Mei Dennison
First-year Samuel Radcliffe discusses the consequences of continual overuse of Artificial Intelligence use on the human brain.
The emergence of generative artificial intelligence has fundamentally transformed the way we work. Despite the potential benefits and increased productivity it offers, there is still public wariness towards AI, largely stemming from misconceptions and a lack of understanding. Many Americans are aware of AI but do not fully understand what it truly is or how it works.
It is important to stay informed about new technologies in order to explore possible consequences. In June 2024, I took an academic summer course at Bucknell University that covered material from the university’s semester course, Technological Dystopia, which discusses the ethical implications of new technologies, including AI.
New evidence suggests that AI comes with an invisible trade-off. It helps us complete tasks faster, but has the potential to cut our engagement in real learning and erode cognitive skills. Essentially, we are swapping long-term cognitive ability for short-term efficiency. We have to weigh the costs of AI and consider how we can use it as a tool without jeopardizing our engagement in cognitive processes.
First, it is important to understand how AI actually works. There are many kinds of AI, but the public tends to be most familiar with one specific type. ChatGPT, Gemini and Meta AI are all examples of large language models. An LLM is a type of generative AI focused on human language. Generative AI is not sentient. It is not even intelligent. Instead, it is based on patterns and probability. They are advanced computer programs trained to do a specific task very well.
This kind of AI is becoming increasingly accessible and part of our everyday lives. OpenAI’s ChatGPT, for example, is available for free online. Today people use large language models at work to draft emails, generate code and summarize large bodies of text, often saving time and money. They provide students with tools that can boost learning outcomes by lending personalized feedback and instruction, potentially improving academic success. Despite these advantages, there is growing evidence that overreliance on AI can directly impact our cognitive abilities.
In his 2023 book “What Is ChatGPT Doing … and Why Does It Work?” computer scientist Stephen Wolfram explains how ChatGPT really works behind the scenes. The model is trained on large amounts of data to recognize patterns and produce a reasonable continuation of a sequence: it predicts the word most likely to come next, one word at a time, until it has generated human-sounding text. While this can be effective, the human mind is infinitely more complex than a computer program. This is why AI-generated text often lacks a noticeably human touch.
Michael Gerlich, head of the Center for Strategic Corporate Foresight and Sustainability at SBS Swiss Business School, examined a 2025 study on the cognitive impacts of AI in the journal “Societies.” The study found a significant negative correlation between frequent AI use and critical thinking abilities. Over time, delegating mental tasks to external aids such as large language models can lead to a decline in cognitive engagement and skill development; Gerlich calls this phenomenon cognitive off-loading. Sharing our workload with AI may result in greater efficiency, but is it worth reducing our engagement in deep thinking?
AI often offers quick solutions and convenience that discourages users from participating in cognitive processes. When we do not engage in physical activity, our bodies can undergo muscle atrophy, potentially resulting in the loss of muscle tissue. Like a muscle, the human brain can also suffer from disuse. We can undergo a kind of “cognitive atrophy” due to lack of mental stimulation. If we off-load too much, we can cut ourselves out of the thinking process entirely.
The first step to embracing any new technology is understanding how it works so we can get a better sense of the impact it will have. AI is undeniably a valuable tool, but that is all it is — a tool. We should still be in the driver’s seat. Critical thinking is arguably our brain’s most valuable function. Forming logical connections, decision making, problem-solving and reasoning all fall under the umbrella of critical thinking. It is an essential skill to academic success and simultaneously what makes us human. Our ability to think critically is what separates us from AI in the first place.