Recent academic studies indicate that using generative AI tools like ChatGPT can reduce brain activity and lead to less original writing. According to an article by Kyle Chayka in The New Yorker, these experiments suggest a “cognitive cost” to relying on AI for tasks humans previously did themselves.
One study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology measured the brain activity of students writing essays. It found that participants using ChatGPT demonstrated significantly less activity related to creativity and working memory. The researchers, led by Nataliya Kosmyna, also noted that the AI-assisted essays were “very, very similar” and lacked the diverse opinions found in the work of other student groups.
Further research supports this homogenizing effect. A Cornell University study found that when participants from different cultures used an AI writing assistant, their responses became more alike and geared toward Western norms. Similarly, a Santa Clara University experiment on creative thinking concluded that ideas generated with AI help were more uniform.
Researchers like Cornell’s Mor Naaman warn that AI suggestions can “covertly, sometimes very powerfully, to change not only what you write but what you think.” This constant exposure to AI-generated consensus may shift what people perceive as normal or appropriate.