• Noticeable decline in mental performance when digital aids are removed
• Warnings over erosion of learning effort and persistence with heavy use of smart systems

Researchers have cautioned that increasing dependence on artificial intelligence tools for everyday tasks may gradually weaken independent thinking and persistence, with effects building silently over time until they become clearly noticeable.

A study involving researchers from the universities of Oxford, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and UCLA found that using AI for problem-solving does not only enhance efficiency, but may also reduce mental effort and perseverance when such tools are no longer available.

Experiments showed that participants who briefly relied on AI assistance and were later denied access performed significantly worse than those who never used it, and were more likely to give up quickly when facing tasks.

The researchers also warn that this pattern resembles a “boiling frog” effect, where gradual cognitive decline goes unnoticed by the individual despite accumulating over time.

The team notes that skills such as arithmetic and reading comprehension are not merely routine tasks to be fully outsourced to technology, but foundational abilities that support higher-order thinking and complex problem-solving.

Co-researcher Grace Liu emphasized that the issue is not artificial intelligence itself, but the potential reduction of “productive mental effort” necessary for skill development, stressing that meaningful learning often requires overcoming difficulty.

She added that these findings do not call for abandoning AI, but rather for using it more consciously, especially in educational settings, as a supportive tool rather than a replacement for thinking and learning.