With millions using OpenAI’s ChatGPT app daily to make life ‘easier’, experts have issued a warning about the risks it may have on the brain.
Cognitive neuroscientist and author Dr Jared Cooney Horvath never uses ChatGPT – and recommends others do the same because the risks outweigh the benefits.
While the possibilities of the AI chatbot seem endless, it’s giving rise to ‘digital dependence’ as people will ‘no longer have the skill or knowledge’ to complete the task themselves. But that’s not all.
Dr Horvath, the 42-year-old creator of The Learning Blueprint metacognition program, told Daily Mail that ChatGPT could kill your memory, fracture your attention span and wreck your creativity over time.
‘Everything we know about how these tools work suggests that they’re not going to be good in the long term,’ he said.
‘People are using ChatGPT to avoid having to think and avoid doing everything that keeps our brains healthy.
‘The key to all brain health is novelty and moderate stress. And when you use tools to avoid that, don’t be surprised when things start to go haywire’.
Researchers at MIT Media Lab released a study which found using ChatGPT to write essays can lead to ‘cognitive debt’ and a ‘likely decrease in learning skills’.
American neuroscientist and author Dr Jared Cooney Horvath (pictured) told Daily Mail ChatGPT could kill your memory, fracture your attention span and wreck your creativity over time.
‘Cognitive debt defers mental effort in the short term but results in long-term costs, such as diminished critical inquiry, increased vulnerability to manipulation, decreased creativity,’ the study states.
‘When participants reproduce suggestions without evaluating their accuracy or relevance, they not only forfeit ownership of the ideas but also risk internalising shallow or biased perspectives.’
THE RISE OF ‘DIGITAL DEMENTIA’ AND BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES
In 2011, the so-called ‘Google Effect’ became a hot topic online. The term, also known as digital amnesia, referred to the tendency to forget information that can be easily found online, highlighting the ways Google Search was fundamentally changing the way humans retain information.
However, people still had to think to find answers. They had to browse links and use critical-thinking skills to determine which sources were likely to be most accurate.
Now, according to Dr Horvath, ChatGPT is ‘worse’ because it ‘offloads the process of using information’ and users are no longer required to think critically when using it.
They are simply provided with an answer, and only rarely do users stop to consider the disclaimer at the bottom: ‘ChatGPT can make mistakes. Check important info.’
‘Whatever the Google Effect was, crank that up a notch with ChatGPT,’ Dr Horvath said.
Jared said his biggest concern about ChatGPT is how it can possibly lead to cognitive decline which can lead to reduced memory, attention span and critical-thinking skills
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If Google Effect gave us digital amnesia – effectively making us less knowledgeable as a society – now there’s the question of whether ChatGPT’s ‘brain-rotting’ potential could lead to a spike in dementia cases over the next decade and beyond.
Dr Horvath explained how ‘digital dementia’ manifests as dementia without the biological markers of it – but the behavioural patterns are the same.
‘Even if we don’t have the longitudinal data yet, the behavioural manifestations are similar enough that we can start to say, “Look, your brain might be fine, but you’re acting differently and that’s just as bad,”‘ he said.
Research also shows how, over time, endless scrolling on devices can decrease memory retention and attention span.
Dr Horvath shared an example of how people now struggle to read a book for more than five minutes before feeling the urge to check their phone or do something else.
‘You need different “memory bins”, as we call them, to create a memory. A start and a stop to mark different events and processes. One of the things technology does really well is it never allows you to do that – it’s a constant scroll to the next clip,’ he said.
For example, with short videos on TikTok, it’s common to not recall the last video you saw because your brain recognises it all in one ‘mode’ and never creates a memory.
‘You will remember what you did right at the beginning and end but not in between.’
THE RISKS OF COGNITIVE OFFLOADING
Dr Horvath emphasised that learning is fundamental to cognitive thinking – but if this is being removed during the process when using ChatGPT, everything that follows will diminish.
‘All the higher-order thinking skills – such as problem solving, critical thinking, creativity – are all dependent upon lower-order thinking, such as skills and knowledge’ he said.
‘For example, creativity doesn’t exist until you learn something, and then it emerges from that learning. The more you offload memory, the less you internalise information and the lower your creativity becomes.’
He stressed how you need to internalise information rather than simply access it online. Therefore, learning and cognitive thinking aren’t two separate things – they’re connected.
BAD NEWS FOR GEN Z
They’re known as ‘digital natives’ for growing up surrounded by technology, but research shows Gen Z are at a strong disadvantage because of this.
Gen Z are the first generation performing worse cognitively than their parents, potentially due to excessive technology use.
‘We assumed they would know more than everyone else, but it’s not the case,’ added Dr Horvath.
‘Gen Z underperform Millennials and are on par with Gen X on their computer skills. Older generations use AI to avoid the process of work – we’ve paid our dues and done 30 years of learning. Gen Z have never done the work to begin with.
‘Gen Alpha is starting to push back against tech way more than Gen Z and Millennials did. So it looks like the younger kids are starting to realise that isn’t good for us.
‘Kids hate what adults do, so they might say, “You know what, for our generation we want to do something different”, which I hope is the case.’
ChatGPT and mental health
Aussie psychologist Carly Dober pictured
Psychologist Carly Dober also voiced her concerns to Daily Mail about the dangers of ChatGPT and the negative impact on mental health.
She’s mostly concerned about the rapid, unregulated growth of generative AI, which has already caused harm through misinformation, worsening mental health, unhealthy dependence, and environmental costs.
Carly also noted that AI models like ChatGPT are programmed to provide constant validation – which can reinforce conditions such as OCD, and that people turning to AI for companionship or to avoid grief may risk damaging their relationships, social and emotional skills, and coping strategies.
ChatGPT also poses the risk of negatively impacting the mental health of those most vulnerable, such as teenagers.
‘The companies that have generative AI products across the globe fight against external regulation, do not rigorously self-regulate, have not introduced safety guardrails to identify and protect the populations most vulnerable to harm, they do not carefully surveil or transparently report adverse consequences, and they do not provide much needed mental health quality control,’ Dober said.
Dober explained that many psychologists will often say, ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it.’
‘What this means is the more you utilise a skill – such as speaking another language or writing strongly argued essays for university – the more you retain and strengthen this skill,’ she said.
‘If you don’t engage in these skills as much, or at all, these skills can lessen over time. No peer-reviewed research thus far has shown that we are becoming cognitively worse with the use of AI; however, research takes time to undertake and peer review.
‘I think a balanced approach to the use of AI could limit cognitive decline, but without firm research to back this up it’s hard to say – and it’s impossible to predict the future.’
On the other end of the spectrum, she added how AI can be helpful when used in the right way.
For example, it could help support those who might have different needs, such as ADHD or autism, or it may help speed up the process of creating résumés and cover letters.
‘It’s important to actively engage with the material by testing yourself (active recall), spacing out your study sessions over time (spaced repetition), and explaining concepts to others. Eliminate distractions, prioritise sleep and exercise,’ she added.
HOW CAN WE SHARPEN OUR MINDS?
When it comes to sharpening our minds, Dr Horvath said it comes down to two things – novelty and effort.
The brain thrives on ‘moderate stress’, such as learning a new language, sport or instrument.
Just like going to the gym to lift weights to grow muscles, the brain needs to be stimulated through stress.
‘It’s that effort, that crunch, it’s the thinking, the work which keeps your brain healthy,’ Dr Horvath explained.
‘You rip your muscle at the gym, and it’s the act of the muscle healing that makes it stronger. You build your thinking when you learn something new, and it’s the act of the brain reorganising that leads to deeper cognition and better brain health.
‘It’s the discomfort which actually leads the system to keep going. You’ve got to put in the work – and tech, by definition, doesn’t want you to do the work. It was invented to make your life easier.
‘I’m sure the people who invented the first computer had really good intentions for it, but it has gone off the tracks unfortunately.’
What does a good relationship with ChatGPT look like?
As far as Dr Horvath is concerned, a healthy relationship with ChatGPT doesn’t exist.
‘There should be zero relationship with ChatGPT. You have to remember, this tool was never built for anything. They released it and said, “Hey, you guys tell us what it’s good for.” In my argument, nothing,’ he said.
‘The users are literally the testers for the creators. Every time you open that thing, you should be demanding a paycheck because you’re doing their job for them.
‘If you, as an inventor, can’t even tell me what your tool is for, why would I waste a second of my life trying to figure it out myself?’
Dr Horvath stressed that if you are going to use the tool, ensure you’re an expert on the topic you’re going to ask about first. Otherwise, you won’t learn anything new.
He recommends developing your own knowledge, skills and understanding, rather than relying on the robot to do the heavy lifting.
‘You will never learn anything from ChatGPT. You’ll just copy and paste whatever it spits out.’