Using AI to make humans better, not worse

Image by olivier89 from Pixabay

The Problem

Imagine you’re on a commercial flight cruising at 35,000 feet when smoke begins pouring from under a passenger’s seat. The flight crew scrambles to respond, but without WiFi or cell service, they can’t access their usual AI assistant. It’s 2035 and, after years of overreliance on AI, they’ve forgotten key safety procedures, like how to handle a lithium battery fire from a device like a vape pen, which requires a fire containment bag or a specialized extinguisher.

If that sounds far-fetched, recent research from MIT suggests otherwise [1]. Irresponsible use of AI is already diminishing human cognitive skills. At Blank Slate, we’re working to integrate AI in ways that enhance human memory and decision-making so that critical thinking doesn’t fail when the internet connection does.

The Evidence

You may have heard the buzz about a research study that researchers at MIT released a few weeks ago. The study investigated the neural and behavioral effects of using large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT in essay writing tasks. Though the paper has not yet undergone peer-review, media outlets covered it broadly because of its immense public interest. You can read the full report here.

Method

In short, the researchers had 54 young adults write an essay once a month for four months. While they wrote these essays, researchers recorded their brain activity using a technique called electroencephalography (EEG).

The study’s key variable was the writing method assigned during the first three months: one-third of participants wrote from scratch, one-third used a web browser (e.g., Google), and one-third used ChatGPT.

Results

Researchers found that brain connectivity decreased as access to writing support increased. People who used ChatGPT to write their essays showed the lowest brain engagement of all three groups, and this engagement stayed low even when they were asked to switch to writing their essay from scratch in the fourth month.

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

The Consequences

The findings of this study likely didn’t surprise anyone. They’re intuitive: when we offload difficult cognitive tasks to AI, our brains don’t have to work as hard. Overreliance on AI means missing key opportunities to build new neural connections and to strengthen the ones we already have. We don’t yet know the long-term effects of an overreliance on AI, but I bet they’ll be as intuitive as the results of this early study. Just like muscles weaken without regular exercise, neural connections atrophy when we stop using them [2]. Without consistent challenge and effort, neural pathways that support memory and creativity fade, leading to measurable declines in cognitive function.

The Solution

AI is so convenient, so helpful, so efficient, so ubiquitous. I had to resist the urge to ask ChatGPT to help me craft these sentences as I wrote them. So how can we use AI more responsibly, reaping the benefits without letting our brains get lazy?

The answer is simple: Use AI in ways that make your brain stronger, not weaker. Consider two ways to adopt this philosophy in your life.

First: If you need to complete a cognitive task that you could do yourself, use AI sparingly.

Need to write an email or draft a slide deck? Need to write an advertisement or a white paper? Make the time to draft these things on your own–think of it as strength training for your neurons. It’s essential that you maintain the ability to create and communicate, because there will be many times in your life when you need to do both in real-time in front of real people. Don’t sabotage your ability to form coherent sentences and generate good ideas by outsourcing your brain to AI.

Second: When AI offers a safe way to enhance your brain, embrace it.

Is there a new AI-powered mattress that cools the body to the perfect temperature at night and enhances sleep? Add to cart. Improving your sleep will restore your brain, helping you achieve optimal cognitive performance.

Blank Slate belongs in this category of brain-enhancing AI tools–not ones that replace human thinking, but ones that strengthen it. Our technology solves a problem the brain can’t solve on its own: predicting when someone is likely to forget something important, and intervening with a well-timed refresher. Like the cooling mattress that senses your temperature, Blank Slate detects forgetting before it happens, something humans simply can’t do. Then it uses that information to make people smarter–not appear smarter, like ChatGPT might do, but actually be smarter.

In 2035, I hope my flight staff are using cooling mattresses and Blank Slate to stay on top of their game. Because even in a high-tech world, human cognition is still the first line of defense.

References:

1. Kosmyna, N., Liao, X.-H., Hauptmann, E., Beresnitzky, A. V., Yuan, Y. T., Braunstein, I., Situ, J., & Maes, P. (2025). Your brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of cognitive debt when using an AI assistant for essay writing task [Unpublished manuscript]. arXiv. https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2506.08872
2. Shors, T. J., Anderson, M. L., Curlik, D. M., 2nd, & Nokia, M. S. (2012). Use it or lose it: how neurogenesis keeps the brain fit for learning. Behavioural brain research, 227(2), 450–458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2011.04.023

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Amy Smith, PhD
Chief Scientific Officer, Blank Slate Technologies