The researchers concluded that students' over-reliance on tools like ChatGPT can create "tendencies toward procrastination and memory loss."

The popularity of the Internet and smartphones, as well as the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, have greatly changed the way we acquire and process information. This raises a profound question: In today's world where information can be obtained anytime and anywhere through technological means, do we still need to work as hard to memorize knowledge as before? But what does this mean for our brains?

In experiments with college students, at least according to a recent study titled “Is It Harmful or Helpful?” overuse of generative AI tools like ChatGPT can lead to procrastination, memory loss, and decreased academic performance.

The study, published in the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, found that students who faced greater academic workloads and time pressure were more likely to use ChatGPT. However, excessive use of the AI ​​tool ultimately had a negative impact on their academic performance.

The study warned that "not surprisingly, use of ChatGPT may foster procrastination and memory loss and inhibit students' academic performance."

According to the study, students who frequently used ChatGPT to complete academic tasks tended to have lower cumulative grade point averages (CGPAs). The authors note that this is consistent with growing concerns among educators that the use of artificial intelligence could cause "great harm" to the social understanding of knowledge and learning and has the potential to "stifle creativity and critical thinking."

As of now, the author of the paper, Muhammad Abbas, did not immediately respond to the reporter's request for comment.

The researchers did recognize some benefits of using AI tools, noting that students who were concerned about "excellence, accuracy, and reliability of their work" were more likely to use ChatGPT to help improve "grammar, style, and language accuracy."

Despite its advantages, they recommend using AI only when it is absolutely necessary.

They note that “over-reliance on external resources, including generative AI tools, without personal engagement and active learning may hinder the development of the skills and depth of knowledge that are critical to academic achievement.”

Impact beyond the classroom

Although AI is a relatively new technology, the recent study is not the first to explore the impact of this emerging technology, with many researchers focusing on its potential implications for education and the workplace.

A regional study of 285 undergraduates published in the scientific journal Nature found that the use of artificial intelligence could lead to laziness and addiction among users, especially in educational settings.

“The findings show that in Pakistani and Chinese societies, the impact of AI has led to a 68.9% increase in human laziness, a 68.6% increase in personal privacy and security concerns, and a 27.7% decrease in decision-making ability,” the study said. “It can be seen that under the influence of AI, human laziness is the most serious problem.”

The study in Nature magazine warns us that student laziness is just one of the worrying phenomena. The researchers suggest that as the use of artificial intelligence becomes more common, people may lose some basic human skills if they become overly dependent on technology. In addition, people may feel more stressed when faced with challenges that require physical or mental activity.

As a result, researchers believe that the use of artificial intelligence may weaken human cognitive abilities because it reduces the need for people to perform mental work and analytical thinking, which may ultimately lead to a decline in people's ability to solve complex problems and make decisions.

Goldman Sachs pointed out in a report released in 2023 that changes in work processes caused by technological advances may lead to about 300 million full-time jobs being replaced by automation technology. At the same time, the Information Sciences Institute also warned that continued reliance on artificial intelligence in the workplace may accelerate the speed of skill failure, which means that workers need to adapt to changes by receiving more education or converting their professional skills to maintain their competitiveness in the job market.

These scenarios look bleak compared to the rosy vision of a carefree utopia painted by techno-utopians like Elon Musk.

More than just AI

Although AI is the most disruptive technology in recent memory, with major implications for the foundations of society, it is just one of a series of fundamental changes in recent history.

In 2014, a team of researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) conducted an experiment with two groups of children in a California public school. One group served as a control group and continued their daily lives without making any changes. The other group went camping to isolate themselves from social media and smartphone interactions. After this digital media-free experience, the researchers tested both groups of children with video clips designed to measure their ability to recognize and understand human emotions.

CTV News reports, “Researchers found that children who were deprived of all digital media performed significantly better at reading emotions than those who were allowed to use social media.”

As mentioned above, AI reduces people’s ability to solve problems or the critical thinking required to complete tasks, and the proliferation of smartphones and social media has also increased people’s distractions and reduced actual human interaction.

Technology is changing the fundamental way people communicate with each other. A major 2017 study looked at the trend toward using emojis and abbreviations in text messages and found that the practice may be hurting people’s ability to have deeper, more complex conversations that require better listening and speaking skills.

In other words, memes like "Explain it to me like you're explaining it to a 5-year-old" and "I ain't reading all that" and typing styles like Sam Altman's that ignore capitalization rules are concrete examples of how technological trends are changing our society. This might lead some people to feel that these changes are gradually making us less intelligent.

Because they may reduce our opportunities for deep thinking, critical analysis, and complex communication. In short, if society generally accepts these simplified communication methods, we may gradually lose some important cognitive and language skills that are essential for personal development and social progress.

However, this view is not absolute, because technology can also provide many conveniences in learning and communication. The key lies in how to balance the use of technology and the cultivation of traditional skills. #ChatGPT  #工具依赖