“Less neural connections”: the disturbing impact of chatgpt on the brain according to the MIT
In the MIT study, the use of chatgpt to write has led to a significant reduction in brain activity, measured by electroencephalography (EEG). Neuronal connectivity in alpha strip was significantly lower than among participants who wrote alone or with a search engine. © Shutershock
What if the artificial intelligence tools saved us time … But at the cost of our neurons? A new study of the alert on the very concrete effects that could have Chatgpt On cognitive development, especially among the youngest. And she was a researcher who preferred to publish without waiting for the validation of her peers, for fear of an irreversible political decision.
Chatgpt harms critical thinking? The MIT was sounding the alarm
And yes, Chatgpt does not only cause addictions. It also causes a cognitive decline. This is in any case what a study of MIT Media Lab suggests, conducted on fifty young adults from the Boston region. Divided into three groups, participants had to write tests inspired by the SAT test: some with Chatgpt, others with Geminiand a last group without any tools.
The results are clear: the brains used chatgpt were much less active – literally. Equipped with electroencephalograms, the researchers measured a drop in brain activity in 32 regions, associated with a loss of creativity, memory and commitment. The copies were flat, unsurprisingly, often copied-pumps. Two English teachers spoke of “soulless” texts.
We demonstrate the urgency of the situation: a significant drop in learning capacities has been found. Over four months, the group that used AI obtained less good results than others at all levels: neural activity, linguistic quality, rating.
But the most disturbing then came: when we asked Chatgpt users to rewrite their own text without the tool, they had few memories … and their brain activity was desperately low. Conversely, those who had first written without help, then used the AI in addition, saw their neuronal connections climbing.
The results of the study show that the more the participants recovered to Chatgpt, the more their neural activity decreased over the trials. The EEG signals reveal a gradual fall in cognitive commitment, accompanied by a loss of memorization and less behavioral involvement. © Shutershock
Chatgpt users had trouble remembering their own texts. Their feeling of possession with regard to their tests was also the weakest.
For researcher Nataliya Kosmyna, it was urgent to publish this data, even if it means going (temporarily) of a peer review. “I fear that one day a minister launches a ‘maternal GPT’. It would be catastrophic”she lets go. Especially since its next results – this time focusing on developers – even more worrying.
What pushed me to publish the study even before rereading by peers was the fear that a political leader decides in six months to launch a “GPT kindergarten”. It would be absolutely harmful, even dangerous.
At a time when digital giants are boasting AI on all floors, this study throws a pavement into the pond: efficiency is not all, and our mental plasticity deserves better than neural shortcuts.
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