As we begin to better understand the capabilities of Generative AI (Gen AI) and tools such as ChatGPT, there is also a need to consider the wider implications of this new technology. Much has been made of the more immediate impact, students using Gen AI to produce answers that are not their own, but less is known as to what might be happening in the longer term, the effect on learning and how our brains might change over time.

There is little doubt that Gen AI tools offer substantial benefits, (see previous blogs, Let’s chat about ChatGPT and Chatting with a Chat Bot – Prompting) including access to vast amounts of knowledge, explained in an easy to understand manner, as well as its ability to generate original content  instantly. However, there might be a significant problem of using these tools that has not yet been realised that could have implications for learning and learning efficacy. What if we become too reliant on these technologies, asking them to solve problems before we even think about them ourselves. This fear has found expression in debates well before Gen AI, in particular an article written by Nicholas Carr in 2008 asking “is Google making us stupid’’ – spoiler alert, the debate continues. And an interesting term coined by the neuroscientist and psychiatrist Manfred Spitzer in 2012, “Digital dementia”, describing the changes in cognition as a result of overusing technology.

Abundance of books makes men less studious; it destroys memory and enfeebles the mind by relieving it of too much work. Hieronimo Squarciafico

But the focus of this blog is on cognitive offloading (Circ 1995), which as you might guess is about allowing some of your thinking/processing/learning to be outsourced to a technology.  

Cognitive offloading
Cognitive offloading in itself is neither good nor bad, it refers to the delegation of cognitive processes to external tools or devices such as calculators, the internet and more recently of course Gen AI. In simple terms there is a danger that by instinctively and habitually going to Google or Chat GPT for answers, your brain misses out on an essential part of the learning process. That is reflecting on what you already know, pulling the information forward, and as a result reinforcing that knowledge, (retrieval practice), then combining it with the new information to better understand what is being said or required.

As highlighted by the examples in the paragraph above cognitive offloading is not a new concern, and not specifically related to Gen AI. However, the level of cognitive offloading, the sophistication in the answers and opportunities to use these technologies is increasing, and as a result the scale and impact is greater.

We are all now connected by the Internet, like neurons in a giant brain. Stephen Hawking

Habitual dependency – one of the main concerns is that even before the question is processed, the student instinctively plugs it into the likes of ChatGPT without any attention or thought. The prompt being regurgitated from memory, “please answer this question in 100 words”. This will lead to possibly the worst situation, where all thought is delegated and worryingly the answer unquestionable believed to be true.

You don’t remember your own number?” the man asked, startled. “No,” Einstein answered. “Why should I memorise something I can so easily get from a book?

Benefits of Cognitive offloading – it’s important to add that there are benefits of using cognitive offloading, for example it reduces cognitive load, which is a significant problem in learning. The technology helps reduce the demand on our short-term memory, freeing the brain to focus on what is more important.

Also, some disagree as to the long-term impact, arguing that short term evidence (see below) is not necessarily the best way to form long term conclusions. For example, there were concerns that calculators would affect our ability to do math’s in our heads, but research found little difference whether students used calculators or not. And the debate has moved on to consider how calculators could be used to complement and reinforce mental and written methods of math’s. These benefits have led some to believe that cognitive offloading increases immediate task performance but diminishes subsequent memory performance for the offloaded information.

There’s a danger in the internet and social media. The notion that information is enough, that more and more information is enough, that you don’t have to think, you just have to get more information – gets very dangerous. Edward de Bono

Evidence
There is little research on the impact of Gen AI due to it being so new, but as mentioned above we have a large amount of evidence on what has happened since the introduction of the internet and search.

• In the paper Information Without Knowledge. The Effects of Internet Search on Learning, Matthew Fisher, et al found that participants who were allowed to search for information online were overconfident about their ability to comprehend the information and those who used the internet were less likely to remember what they had read. 
• Dr Benjamin Storm the lead author of Cognitive offloading: How the Internet is increasingly taking over human memory, commented, “Memory is changing. Our research shows that as we use the Internet to support and extend our memory we become more reliant on it. Whereas before we might have tried to recall something on our own, now we don’t bother.”

The student who is using it (AI) because they lack the expertise is exactly the student who is not ready to assess what it’s doing critically. Chronicle of Higher Ed

What should you do?
To mitigate the risks of cognitive offloading, the simple answer is to limit or reduce your dependency and use Gen AI to supplement your learning rather than as a primary source. For example, ask it to come with ideas and lists but not the final text, spend your time linking the information together and shaping the arguments.

And finally – the role of mastery has changed

It used to be about mastery of content. Now, students need to understand content, but it’s much more about mastery of the interpretation and utilisation of the content. Inside Higher Ed.