AI may make us more efficient, but it’s turning our brains to mush

Increasingly, more and more of us are using ChatGPT or other generative-AI sidekicks for work-related tasks. I get it, they’re convenient, and can cut out some of the drudgery of the workday. But they also might be turning our brains to mush.

When I surveyed 2000 professionals last month, 88 per cent admitted they’d used ChatGPT or similar to write for them, and 63 per cent said they felt “foggy” or “weirdly uncreative” afterwards. Yet deadlines still loom, so most people do the obvious thing: they open ChatGPT again.

ChatGPT and other AI helpers are phenomenal accelerators, but, like performance-enhancing drugs, they carry hidden costs.Credit: AP

The true price of that convenience is only starting to surface, and the ultimate loser is your prefrontal cortex. A recent MIT Media Lab study, Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt, wired participants to EEG headsets while they wrote essays under three conditions.

• ChatGPT group: used ChatGPT exclusively.
• Search engine group: used Google (no AI).
• Brain-only group: relied solely on memory and reasoning.

Which group do you think had the lowest levels of brain activity? Unsurprisingly, the ChatGPT users. They displayed the weakest connectivity of all three groups, and brain activity shrank the more they relied on the model.

Worse, when those same participants later had to write without AI, their brain activity stayed low. The researchers call this “cognitive debt”: the more you lean on AI to think, the harder it becomes to think without it. Here’s why this should rattle you, especially if you’re a manager (or parent).

When ChatGPT gives you ideas before you try to generate your own, your brain’s creative circuits stay inactive.

1. AI is eroding cognitive independence. The more you outsource, the harder it becomes to start, or continue, unaided. That’s a vicious loop: weakened neural pathways make independent thinking feel exhausting, which nudges you back to AI, which weakens the pathways further.

2. Workforce homogenisation. If everyone begins with the same machine-generated draft, ideas converge on mediocrity. Competitive advantage flows to the few who still train their own creative muscles.

3. Educational malnutrition. When kids outsource every essay, maths problem, or history summary to AI, they skip the mental “reps” that wire the brain for growth. They’re no longer connecting the dots on their own.

Without that workout, neural pathways for reasoning and creativity stay underdeveloped, and critical thinking never gets a chance to take root. They grow up not trusting their own thinking.

4. A generational skills gap. Gen Z and Gen Alpha will enter the workplace with large language models (LLMs) stitched into their browsers from day one. If they never build deep-work stamina (hours spent wrestling with messy drafts), they’ll lack the cognitive independence that powers real problem-solving and discernment.

When I posted this research on LinkedIn a couple of weeks ago, one of the common defences that dominated the 200+ comments was that many people use AI to help them come up with ideas. If you’re using AI first, it’s still a problem.

When ChatGPT (or your AI tool of choice) gives you ideas before you try to generate your own, your brain’s creative circuits stay inactive. Those creative pathways weaken, and each time you skip the mental reps it gets harder to fire them up later.

Bottom line? If AI does the thinking first, you gradually lose the ability to think for yourself. Now that’s a scary thought.

Three ways to keep your brain in fighting shape

1. Think first, then ask. Set a timer for 15 minutes and jot down every idea you can on your own. After that, open ChatGPT/your LLM of choice and say, “What questions could help me find ideas I haven’t thought of yet?” Only when you’ve added all of those answers should you ask, “What’s still missing?”

2. Write first, refine later. Draft the email or proposal on your own. Yes, it’s slower, but that’s how skills grow. When you’re done, paste it into your AI model and ask it to tighten the wording. Make sure you review in detail, and change to your own tone. Note the changes you like and try them yourself next time.

3. Impose an AI fast. Start with at least one day a week with zero AI writing or idea generation. This forces dormant neural circuits to reactivate. I’m on week two of my own fast after a month-long creative drought, and I’m already noticing the spark is returning.

LLMs are phenomenal accelerators, but, like performance-enhancing drugs, they carry hidden costs. Efficiency is great; cognitive bankruptcy is not. Think first, then prompt. Your brain is too important to let it atrophy.

Shadé Zahrai is a behavioural strategist, and award-winning peak performance educator to Fortune 500s. Co-founder of Influenceo Global, she advises global brands on matters spanning leadership, culture and performance. Follow her on LinkedIn here.

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