Since its launch in late 2022, ChatGPT has sparked a revolution. Millions of people began using this AI model and relying on it for information searches, as the new technology saves time and effort — despite warnings from tech experts that the results may sometimes be inaccurate.
On the other hand, a new research paper showed that relying on ChatGPT for finding information led some people to develop superficial knowledge without deeply understanding or verifying the content — which could potentially weaken memory over time.
The study involved 10,000 participants to reach a reliable conclusion about the impact of AI on human memory. Participants were asked to learn about a specific topic and were randomly assigned to do so either using a large language model like ChatGPT or through traditional research methods. The results were surprising.
The Impact of Using ChatGPT on Memory
When this advice was presented to a separate group of readers who were not told how the information was gathered, they found it less helpful, less useful, and were less likely to adopt it.
When results were compared, it became clear that relying on AI tools resulted in shallower knowledge than gathering, interpreting, and synthesizing information independently through search engines like Google. This suggests that LLM tools did not enhance learning — instead, they reduced the ability to learn deeply.
Continuous Research Stimulates Memory
Scientists confirm that constant exposure to information, interacting with it, reading multiple sources, and interpreting them, strengthen memory and help develop mental representations. This means that people should rely primarily on their own intelligence, researching information from different sources and interpreting it — rather than obtaining answers effortlessly from AI tools.
AI-based search tools can be useful for quick information, but scientists advise always verifying facts through multiple sources.
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