Artificial Intelligence is Making People Dumber

From basic critical thinking to doctors diagnosing cancer, using artificial intelligence rapidly causes people to lose skills.

USE IT OR LOSE IT: Studies Keep Showing AI Makes Us Dumber

• Artificial neural networks are extremely adaptable software that can be fitted to many different kinds of tasks, from detecting cancer in X-Rays to generating a romance novel.
• There has been an explosion of these sorts of artificial intelligence tooling across almost every profession in the last decade.
• ChatGPT and its effects soared into the public consciousness in 2022. Venture capital and government funding keeps pouring into AI projects. CEOs have proudly proclaimed they want to replace most knowledge workers.
• But studies keep showing: There are extremely detrimental side effects of using all these AI tools.
• AI makes you dumber in general: “Cognitive offloading was strongly correlated with AI tool usage and inversely related to critical thinking.” [1]
• AI causes you to lose skills you already had: “AI Eroded Doctors’ Ability to Spot Cancer Within Months in Study” [2]

Another study [3] concludes: “It is crucial to find a balance between leveraging artificial intelligence’s advantages and preserving our natural cognitive abilities, ensuring continuous practice and engagement in traditional cognitive exercises.”

Do we need AI bans to prevent skill loss in critical industries and schools?

Sources

• Study 1: “Increased AI use linked to eroding critical thinking skills” - phys.org/news/2025-01-ai-linked-eroding-critical-skills.html
• AI Tools in Society: Impacts on Cognitive Offloading and the Future of Critical Thinking - mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/1/6
• Study 2: Lancet: “Endoscopist deskilling risk after exposure to artificial intelligence in colonoscopy: a multicentre, observational study” - thelancet.com/journals/langas/article/PIIS2468-1253(25)00133-5/abstract
• Bloomberg: “AI Eroded Doctors’ Ability to Spot Cancer Within Months in Study” - archive.ph/whVMI
• Study 3: “Redefining Cognitive Domains in the Era of ChatGPT: A Comprehensive Analysis of Artificial Intelligence’s Influence and Future Implications” - pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11515803/
• Background, classic 2008 essay - “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_Google_Making_Us_Stupid%3F