Study reveals ChatGPT usage hinders critical thinking in students
MIT researchers found that students who leaned heavily on ChatGPT for essay writing showed weaker brain activity and lower engagement compared to those who used search engines or just their own knowledge.
Students who used ChatGPT struggled to remember what they wrote
Students using ChatGPT often struggled to remember what they wrote and relied more on copy-pasting.
While teachers said the essays looked organized, they felt these lacked originality and personal insight.
As university instructor Jocelyn Leitzinger put it, many submissions missed real reflection or ethical thought.
Getting used to AI tools too early might hurt learning
Lead author Nataliya Kosmyna cautioned that getting used to AI tools too early might hurt learning and brain development, especially for younger users.
Even though the study was small, experts agree: using AI changes how our brains engage with writing.
Educators say we need solid guidelines for using such tech
The research suggests that skipping steps like evaluating and thinking things through—by just using AI—leads to less real learning.
Educators say we need solid guidelines so tech like ChatGPT helps us think better, not do all the thinking for us.