Is using ChatGPT to write a text like activating the brain's "energy saving" mode? This is somewhat what a study conducted by a team at MIT suggests. For several months, students in the Boston area were invited to write short texts... with or without assistance. All this while wearing EEG headsets, in order to observe what was happening (or not) in their gray matter.
Brain nap
Three groups: the first without any assistance, the second with a search engine, and the third equipped with GPT-4o, OpenAI's AI model. Result? The more they relied on an external tool, the less the brain worked. And it's the "ChatGPT" group that takes the prize for brain laziness, with a drop in activity of up to 55% compared to those who managed on their own.
The search engine, for its part, does a little better (or a little less badly), but also shows a clear decline. Brain activity was measured using a somewhat barbaric tool called Dynamic Directed Transfer Function (dDTF), which analyzes how information circulates between different areas of the brain. In essence: the more it moves, the more the brain is involved.
And it's not just a question of brain waves. The researchers also tested memory and the feeling of ownership of written texts. Verdict: those who used ChatGPT remembered them less well... and felt they had "created" less themselves. Even worse: when AI is removed from them in a subsequent session, their performance plummets.
Conversely, those who started solo, then later had access to ChatGPT, saw their brains activate more. As if AI worked better when you use it after warming up your neurons a bit yourself.
The researchers' conclusion? Letting AI do the work from the start means taking the risk of learning less well. It's better to start thinking for yourself, even if it means calling ChatGPT for help afterward.
This study has not yet been validated by the scientific community, so caution is advised. But it raises a real issue, especially at a time when more and more students are relying on AI to do their homework. Researcher Nataliya Kosmyna, who led the project, doesn't talk about a "soft brain" or a generation dumbed down by AI. She prefers to warn about the need to regulate the use of these tools, particularly in the field of education.
Other research is already planned: the next one will focus on how our brain reacts when we ask AI to code for us. In the meantime, if you use ChatGPT to write your texts, at least keep a little space for your own gray matter, it can always be useful!
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