Are AI tools making students smarter or lazier? New study warns of hidden risks

The rise of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT is changing how students write essays and create videos faster than ever before. These tools make tasks easier and more creative, but experts warn they can also hurt students’ ability to think and learn if used without care.

- by ¢. A. Saliva sallya.a@ sllitlk www.researcher.ik

A recent study by researchers at MIT, called Your Brain on ChatGPT, found that students who relied too heavily on AI showed less brain activity and remembered less of what they learned. Scientists call this problem “cognitive debt,” where depending too much on technology makes our minds weaker—similar to how overusing calculators can make basic math skills rusty.

The research doesn’t suggest banning AI from schools. Instead, it recommends teaching students how to use these tools wisely, with guidance from teachers. Students need to build strong skills on their own first, so AI becomes a helper—not a crutch. The same concerns apply to AI programmes that make graphics, videos, and other media: they can open doors for creativity but can also reduce hands-on learning.

Experts agree that AI should support human thinking, not replace it. Schools need to update how they teach, making sure technology empowers students while keeping their brains active and growing.

In classrooms and campuses across the world, artificial intelligence (AI) is changing how students learn, write, and think. Tools, like ChatGPT, capable of generating essays, solving problems, and answering questions in seconds, are becoming as common as calculators once were in math class.

But while these AI tools make learning faster and more accessible, some educators are worried. Could we be trading convenience for critical thinking?

Just as calculators made it easier to skip memorising multiplication tables, today’s AI tools might be encouraging students to skip the hard work of thinking, reasoning, and expressing themselves. Many teachers have noticed a drop in students’ ability to write clearly, think critically, and retain information—especially when AI is doing most of the work for them.