MIT brain scans suggest that using GenAI tools reduces cognitive activity

Why it matters: As the use of generative AI becomes increasingly common in education, law, politics, media, and other fields, many worry that reliance on the technology may reduce cognitive independence. A recent study from MIT strongly supports this concern, indicating that the use of digital tools significantly alters brain activity.

The newly published paper explains that as participants in an experiment wrote a series of essays, electronic brain monitoring revealed substantially weaker connections between regions of the brain in those who used large language models (LLMs). This correlated with poorer memory and more derivative output.

Three groups of participants each wrote three essays: one group relied on an LLM, another used search engines, and the third worked without any external tools. Then, the LLM and "brain-only" groups swapped members for a fourth essay. Although essays from the brain-only group were not always the most accurate, participants in that group ...