Behavior

A study by MIT researchers monitored and compared the brain activity of participants using large language models, traditional search engines, and only their brains to write an essay on a given topic, reports Hessie Jones for Forbes. The study “found that the brain-only group showed much more active brain waves compared to the search-only and LLM-only groups,” Jones explains. “In the latter two groups, participants relied on external sources for information. The search-only group still needed some topic understanding to look up information, and like using a calculator — you must understand its functions to get the right answer. In contrast, the LLM-only group simply had to remember the prompt used to generate the essay, with little to no actual cognitive processing involved.”  

Researchers at MIT have found that ChatGPT users “showed minimal brain engagement and consistently fell short in neural linguistic, and behavioral aspects,” reports Kyle Wiggers for TechCrunch. “To conduct the test, the lab split 54 participants from the Boston area into three groups, each consisting of individuals ages 18 to 39,” explains Wiggers. “The participants were asked to write multiple SAT essays using tools such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, the Google search engine, or without any tools.” 

Researchers from MIT have found that “extended use of LLMs for research and writing could have long-term behavioral effects, such as lower brain engagement and laziness,” reports Theo Burman for Newsweek. “The study found that the AI-assisted writers were engaging their deep memory processes far less than the control groups, and that their information recall skills were worse after producing work with ChatGPT,” explains Burman. 

Researchers at MIT have found that “AI agents can make the workplace more productive when fine-tuned for different personality types, but human co-workers pay a price in lost socialization,” reports Kaustuv Basu for Bloomberg. The researchers concluded “found that humans using AI raised their productivity by 60%—partly because those workers sent 23% fewer social messages,” writes Basu. 

MIT researchers have found that ChatGPT use can lead to a decline in cognitive engagement, reports Robert B. Tucker for Forbes. “Brain regions associated with attention, memory, and higher-ordered reasoning were noticeably less active” in study participants, Tucker explains.

Researchers at MIT have found that the use of ChatGPT can “reduce activity in brain regions associated with memory and learning,” reports Eve Upton-Clark for Fast Company. “ChatGPT users felt less ownership over their essays compared to the other groups,” writes Upton-Clark. “They also struggled to recall or quote from their own essays shortly after submitting them—showing how reliance on the LLM bypassed deep memory processes.” 

Researchers at MIT have found that “people who used ChatGPT to write a series of essays suffered a ‘cognitive cost’ compared to others who used only their brains or a traditional search engine,” reports Ross Cristantiello for Boston.com. “The researchers found that as users relied on ‘external support’ more and more, their brain connectivity gradually scaled down,” explains Cristantiello. “Subjects who began the tests using ChatGPT before being told to use only their brains showed ‘weaker neural connectivity’ and ‘under-engagement’ of certain networks in their brains.”  

A study by MIT researchers finds that individuals who relied solely on ChatGPT to write essays had "lower levels of brain activity and presented less original writing,” reports Greta Cross for USA Today. "While these tools offer unprecedented opportunities for enhancing learning and information access, their potential impact on cognitive development, critical thinking and intellectual independence demands a very careful consideration and continued research," the researchers explain.

Researchers at MIT have found that ChatGPT use can “harm an individual’s critical thinking over time,” reports Rachel Scully for The Hill. “They discovered that subjects who used ChatGPT over a few months had the lowest brain engagement and ‘consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels,’” explains Scully. 

A study by researchers at MIT examines how the use of large language models impacts the human brain, reports Elizabeth Hlavinka for Salon. Research scientist Nataliya Kos'myna says the results “suggest large language models could affect our memory, attention and creativity.” 

Writing for The Boston Globe, graduate students Manuj Dhariwal SM '17 and Shruti Dhariwal SM '18 highlight new efforts to reframe the language used to describe the ways humans are interacting with AI technologies. “It is a subtle reframing, but one that we urgently need as AI systems become interwoven with our creative, social, and emotional worlds,” they write. “The point is not necessarily to choose one over the other — but to clearly distinguish one from the other.” 

Prof. Pattie Maes speaks with Financial Times reporter Cristina Criddle about recent developments aimed at increasing AI memory retention. “The more a system knows about you, the more it can be used for negative purposes to either make you buy stuff or convince you of particular beliefs,” says Maes. “So you have to start thinking about the underlying incentives of the companies that offer these services.” 

A study by Prof. Rebecca Saxe and her colleagues has found that the medial prefrontal cortex in infants is active when exposed to faces, reports Elizabeth Hlavinka for Salon. “Maybe it’s not that [at] first babies do visual processing and only later are connected to social meaning,” says Saxe. “Maybe these brain regions are active because babies are responding to the social meaning of people and faces as early on as we can measure their brains.”

Researchers at MIT have conducted a survey to understand how people interact with AI companions, reports David Adam for Nature. The researchers found that 12% [of users] were drawn to the apps to help them cope with loneliness and 14% used them to discuss personal issues and mental health,” writes Adam. “Forty-two per cent of users said they logged on a few times a week, with just 15% doing so every day. More than 90% reported that their sessions lasted less than one hour.” 

Prof. Sherry Turkle speaks with New York Times reporter Sopan Deb about how humans interact with artificial intelligence, specifically chatbots such as ChatGPT. “If an object is alive enough for us to start having intimate conversations, friendly conversations, treating it as a really important person in our lives, even though it’s not, it’s alive enough for us to show courtesy to,” says Turkle.