AI Overreliance Could Stunt Human Cognition, Researcher Warns
• AI chatbots like ChatGPT could "catastrophically" impair human cognition and decision-making if overly relied upon, warns researcher
• Overuse may lead to "cognitive atrophy" over time, similar to how technology has already impacted skills like memory and spatial reasoning
• Researcher worries AI could act as "cognitive prosthetics" that eventually make decisions for us, rather than assisting human thinking
• Allowing AI to perform mental tasks for us may prevent the development of complex intellectual abilities, just as only observing sports prevents skill-building
• There are already signs people are experimenting with overly relying on AI for decisions rather than thinking problems through themselves