The Limitless Podcast The Dark Side Of ChatGPT: Is AI Making Us Dumber?
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Jun 26, 2025 The podcast delves into the darker implications of ChatGPT on human cognition. It discusses how reliance on AI tools might lead to a decrease in critical thinking skills, drawing parallels to how calculators affected math abilities. The conversation highlights a complex interplay between AI and human reasoning, debating its dual role as a creative enhancer and a potential detractor from independent thought. Finally, it explores innovative ways AI can improve learning while questioning its overall impact on our intelligence.
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ChatGPT Reduces Brain Connectivity
- Extensive ChatGPT use can reduce neural brain connectivity by nearly 50%, indicating potential cognitive decline.
- This decline appears structural and not just limited skill degradation like with calculators or GPS.
Brain as a Cognitive Muscle
- The brain's neurons strengthen through thinking, akin to muscle exercise.
- Offloading all cognition to AI risks atrophying the brain's raw computational abilities and cognition.
AI Use Harms Essay Skills
- College students who used ChatGPT to write essays underperform when later asked to write without AI.
- This indicates an atrophy of brain function, akin to muscle deterioration from disuse.