The ChatGPT Generation: Have We Become Dependent on AI?

Since the release of ChatGPT in 2022, more than 70% of students worldwide are now using GenAI in school and university work. Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has quickly become a part of our daily lives, especially in education. Tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot can create almost anything, from texts and summaries to images, music, audio, and videos, all from just a few prompts.

Before GenAI, schoolwork looked very different. Students researched independently, spent hours drafting and writing assignments, and came up with their own ideas for projects, presentations, and other tasks. Today, however, many students turn to AI to deal with academic workloads more quickly, handle stress, and receive personalised support from chatbots. Students rely on AI for completing assignments, writing papers and essays, creating presentations, and even sending emails to their professors. Tasks that once required days, like creating a presentation using textbooks, class notes, and online sources, can now be produced within minutes. Instead of engaging in research, writing, and creative design, we can simply type: “Create a 10-slide presentation with engaging visuals and a few questions at the end”, and seconds later, the presentation is ready.

But while AI can make studying easier, its impact on academic effort and cognitive development cannot be overlooked. Some of the main challenges include diminished critical thinking skills, data privacy risks, and academic dishonesty. According to a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), students who rely on ChatGPT show lower brain engagement and overall perform worse in writing, speaking, and critical thinking. Using GenAI, students put less effort into their assignments and daily tasks with little to no critical thinking involved. Over time, this reliance on shortcuts weakens the ability to work independently and to produce original written, oral, and visual content.

So what does this reliance on AI actually do to young people’s brains? The MIT study “Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task” found that people who rely on AI-generated content show less brain activity and lower attention spans, and struggle to remember the information that the AI produced for them. Other medical studies also highlighted that overreliance on AI can impair cognitive development, especially in young people whose brains develop until their mid-twenties. Therefore, although ChatGPT may seem like a quick solution for assignments, it may gradually reduce students’ problem-solving skills, mental engagement, memory, and focus, as well as weaken language abilities and creativity. Using AI could also lead to what experts call cognitive offloading: instead of processing and retaining knowledge themselves, students let AI do it, which could weaken internal memory over time. According to the “use it or lose it” principle, if the brain is not regularly challenged to remember, analyse, or create information, these cognitive functions will gradually decline. As a result, students become more dependent on AI because it is convenient and easier than thinking by themselves.

To minimise the negative effects of AI on students’ cognitive development, more attention should be paid to how people use it and for which purposes. Some universities are already taking steps to reduce academic dishonesty and promote responsible AI use. For example, the University of Gothenburg now requires students to include an AI declaration with every online submission, stating whether they used AI and in what way. In fact, when used responsibly, GenAI can provide several advantages that make learning more accessible. For instance, AI can help clarify complex concepts, brainstorm early ideas, check grammar, and even offer personalised learning to students with learning disabilities. These are all legitimate educational uses that can complement critical thinking, rather than outright replace it. When used in this way, AI can function as a partner that supports learning, without replacing the cognitive effort necessary for brain development. Therefore, AI should not be completely excluded from education due to the numerous educational benefits it offers; rather, it is essential that AI is responsibly integrated into academic environments and that students are made aware of the risks associated with its use.

Sara Seregni

Staff Writer