
<h2>
Quick-Glance Summary</h2>
<ul>
<li>
I walk you through an MIT experiment where 54 EEG-capped volunteers wrote essays three ways: pure brainpower, classic search, and ChatGPT assistance.</li>
<li>
Brain-only writers lit up the most neurons and produced the freshest prose; the ChatGPT crowd churned out near-identical essays, remembered little, and racked up what the researchers dub <strong>
cognitive debt : </strong>
the interest you pay later for outsourcing thought today.</li>
<li>
A bonus “switch” round yanked AI away from the LLM devotees (cue face-plant) and finally let the brain-first team play with the toy (they coped fine), proving skills first, tools second.</li>
<li>
I spiced the tale with calculator nostalgia, a Belgian med-exam cheating fiasco, and Professor Felienne’s forklift-in-the-gym metaphor to land one mantra: *scaffolds beat shortcuts*.</li>
<li>
We peeked at tech “enshittification” once investors demand returns, whispered “open-source” as the escape hatch, and I dared you to try a two-day test—outline solo, draft with AI, revise solo, then check what you still remember.</li>
<li>
Net takeaway: keep AI on a leash; let <strong>
thinking drive, tools navigate</strong>
.</li>
<li>
If you think I’m full of digital hot air, record your own rebuttal and prove it.</li>
</ul>
<p>
<br>
</p>
<p>
 </p>
<h2>
Resources</h2>
<h3>
<strong>
MIT study</strong>
</h3>
<ul>
<li>
MIT Media Lab. (2025). Your brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of cognitive debt. <a href="https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://www.media.mit.edu/publications/your-brain-on-chatgpt/</a>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>
<strong>
Long term consequences</strong>
</h3>
<p>
(to be honest - pulled these from another list, didn't check all of them)</p>
<p>
<br>
</p>
<ul>
<li>
Clemente-Suárez, V. J., Beltrán-Velasco, A. I., Herrero-Roldán, S., Rodriguez-Besteiro, S., Martínez-Guardado, I., Martín-Rodríguez, A., &amp; Tornero-Aguilera, J. F. (2024). Digital device usage and childhood cognitive development: Exploring effects on cognitive abilities. <em>
Children</em>
, 11(11), 1299. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11592547/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11592547/</a>
</li>
<li>
Grinschgl, S., Papenmeier, F., &amp; Meyerhoff, H. S. (2021). Consequences of cognitive offloading: Boosting performance but diminishing memory. <em>
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology</em>
, 74(9), 1477–1496. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8358584/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8358584/</a>
</li>
<li>
Ward, A. F., Duke, K., Gneezy, A., &amp; Bos, M. W. (2017). Brain drain: The mere presence of one's own smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity. <em>
Journal of the Association for Consumer Research</em>
, 2(2), 140–154. <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/691462" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/691462</a>
</li>
<li>
Zhang, M., Zhang, X., Wang, H., &amp; Yu, L. (2024). Understanding the influence of digital technology on cognitive development in children. <em>
Current Research in Behavioral Sciences</em>
, 5, 100224. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266724212400099X" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S266724212400099X</a>
</li>
<li>
Risko, E. F., &amp; Dunn, T. L. (2020). Developmental origins of cognitive offloading. <em>
Developmental Review</em>
, 57, 100921. <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32517613/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32517613/</a>
</li>
<li>
Ladouceur, R. (2022). Cognitive effects of prolonged continuous human-machine interactions: Implications for digital device users. <em>
Behavioral Sciences</em>
, 12(8), 240. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10790890/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10790890/</a>
</li>
<li>
Wong, M. Y., Yin, Z., Kwan, S. C., &amp; Chua, S. E. (2024). Understanding digital dementia and cognitive impact in children and adolescents. <em>
Neuroscience Bulletin</em>
, 40(7), 628–635. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11499077/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11499077/</a>
</li>
<li>
Baxter, B. (2025, February 2). Designing AI for human expertise: Preventing cognitive shortcuts. <em>
UXmatters</em>
. <a href="https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2025/02/designing-ai-for-human-expertise-preventing-cognitive-shortcuts.php" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2025/02/designing-ai-for-human-expertise-preventing-cognitive-shortcuts.php</a>
</li>
<li>
Tristan, C., &amp; Thomas, M. (2024). The brain digitalization: It's all happening so fast! <em>
Frontiers in Human Dynamics</em>
, 4, 1475438. <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-dynamics/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2024.1475438/full" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/human-dynamics/articles/10.3389/fhumd.2024.1475438/full</a>
</li>
<li>
Sun, Z., &amp; Wang, Y. (2024). Two distinct neural pathways for mechanical versus digital memory aids. <em>
NeuroImage</em>
, 121, 117245. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811924004683" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811924004683</a>
</li>
<li>
Ahmed, S. (2025). Demystifying the new dilemma of brain rot in the digital era. <em>
Contemporary Neurology</em>
, 19(3), 241–254. <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11939997/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11939997/</a>
</li>
<li>
Redshaw, J., &amp; Adlam, A. (2020). The nature and development of cognitive offloading in children. <em>
Child Development Perspectives</em>
, 14(2), 120–126. <a href="https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdep.12532" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/cdep.12532</a>
</li>
<li>
Geneva Internet Platform. (2025, June 3). Cognitive offloading and the future of the mind in the AI age. <a href="https://dig.watch/updates/cognitive-offloading-and-the-future-of-the-mind-in-the-ai-age" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://dig.watch/updates/cognitive-offloading-and-the-future-of-the-mind-in-the-ai-age</a>
</li>
<li>
Karlsson, G. (2019). Reducing cognitive load on the working memory by externalizing information. <em>
DIVA Portal</em>
. <a href="http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1327786/FULLTEXT02.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1327786/FULLTEXT02.pdf</a>
</li>
<li>
Monitask. (2025). What is cognitive offloading? <a href="https://www.monitask.com/en/business-glossary/cognitive-offloading" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://www.monitask.com/en/business-glossary/cognitive-offloading</a>
</li>
<li>
Sharma, A., &amp; Watson, S. (2024). Human technology intermediation to reduce cognitive load. <em>
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association</em>
, 31(4), 832–841. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jamia/article/31/4/832/7595629" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://academic.oup.com/jamia/article/31/4/832/7595629</a>
</li>
<li>
Morgan, P. L., &amp; Risko, E. F. (2021). Re-examining cognitive load measures in real-world learning environments. <em>
British Journal of Educational Psychology</em>
, 91(3), 993–1013. <a href="https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjep.12729" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjep.12729</a>
</li>
</ul>
<p>
Podcast episodes that inspired some thoughts</p>
<p>
<br>
</p>
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://ai-het-pedagogisch-appel.captivate.fm/episode/35-felienne-hermans-over-pedagogische-weerbaarheid-in-tijden-van-ai" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
Felien Hermans (NL)</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.techwontsave.us/episode/282_chatbots_are_repeating_social_medias_harms_w_nitasha_tiku" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
Tech won't save us</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://podcastaddict.com/screenstrong-families/episode/205578302" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
Screenstrong Families</a>
</li>
</ul>


