How ChatGPT Slowly Destroys Your Brain

[tobelightlight]

 

[laksaboy]

That's why the PAP regime is constantly hyping AI. Dumbed down people are easier to control and fool.

Wait till you see the kids of MOE schools today, who are growing up with ChatGPT. See what happens when they reach adulthood.

 

[A Singaporean]

This will absolutely not happen to coolie gene Sinkies. They never have one.

 

[tobelightlight]

 

[Hightech88]

Hokay, let's use ChatGPT to verify this claim LOL:

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Here’s a fact-check & rebuttal of the claim that “ChatGPT slowly destroys your brain,” based on the latest research. The situation is more nuanced than “destroying”—there are risks, but also clear benefits, and much depends on how you use the tool.

What the research​

A recent study from MIT, “Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task,” found some measurable downsides for people who repeatedly used large language models (like ChatGPT) to write essays, compared with people who either used search engines or wrote without external tools. Key findings:

• The group using ChatGPT showed lower neural connectivity in EEG readings—i.e. less engagement of brain networks tied to memory, executive function, attention. (MIT Media Lab)
• They also did worse in memory recall (e.g. quoting their own essays), felt less ownership of their work, and showed signs of declining performance over repeated tasks. (MIT Media Lab)
• But in experiments where brain-only participants later switched to using ChatGPT, and vice versa, some recovery or different patterns were seen, showing the effects are not necessarily permanent or absolute. (MIT Media Lab)
  Other research reviews have shown both positives and negatives:
• In many studies, ChatGPT can increase efficiency, motivation, scaffold learning etc. (Nature)
• The main concern is over-reliance: when users stop engaging themselves in critical thinking, fact checking, etc., and simply outsource tasks to the AI. (SpringerOpen)

What is
“Destroying your brain” is hyperbole. The actual evidence does not support that ChatGPT renders people incapable of thinking. Some of the gaps or caveats include:

1. Small sample size & limited scope.
   The MIT study had 54 participants. Mostly essays, over several months: that’s good, but not enough to claim universal, long-term brain damage. (MIT Media Lab)
2. Context matters.
   If you never push yourself, always use ChatGPT for everything, don’t check or think, then yes, you may lose skills or habit of thinking deeply. But many people use AI as a tool—to assist, to proofread, to get ideas—and still do their own work. These patterns likely have far different cognitive consequences.
3. Reversibility.
   Some portions of the study showed changes when people switched back to “brain‐only” modes. So the effects are not necessarily permanent or totally “destroying.” (MIT Media Lab)
4. Benefit side.
   There’s evidence ChatGPT can help with scaffolding, accessibility, efficiency, helping people to learn things they couldn’t otherwise, or to experiment and explore ideas faster. Those are positive. (Nature)
   

Strong rebuttal in short

• Claiming that ChatGPT “destroys your brain” is sensationalist and misleading. A more accurate framing is:
• Over-dependence on ChatGPT for tasks that require memory, creativity, critical thinking can lead to reduced mental effort, less retention, and weaker engagement.
• But “destroying your brain” assumes permanent damage, which the current evidence does not support.
• With intentional, disciplined, active use, you can avoid many of the risks. For example: using ChatGPT for drafts but doing your own revisions; using it for idea generation but making yourself do the fact-checking; maintaining “brain-only” practice, etc.

If you want, I can compare this to how other tools (like calculators, GPS, search engines) have been criticized in the past in similar ways, to show how this pattern is not unique to ChatGPT.
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