Irony of Automation: How AI Is Mentally De-Training Us

‍

As the world celebrates the efficiency of artificial intelligence, a disturbing paradox emerges: AI is not replacing us, it is de-training us. And this process of "cognitive offloading" is changing the way we think and remember.

‍

The Mental GPS: When Efficiency Becomes the Enemy.

Remember when you could find your way around town? When you could recite your friends' phone numbers by heart? What happened to our sense of direction with GPS is now happening to our cognitive abilities with AI.

‍

A 2020 study published in Nature Neuroscience by Louisa Dahmani of Massachusetts General Hospital showed that relying on GPS to get around significantly reduces activity in the hippocampus, the brain region crucial for spatial memory and navigation.

‍

The Google Effect: The Precedent That Explains Everything

The phenomenon has solid scientific roots. The"Google Effect" or digital amnesia was first documented in 2011 by Columbia University psychologist Betsy Sparrow in a study published in Science.

‍

Research has shown that people are less likely to remember information when they know they can easily retrieve it online. In one of the experiments, participants remembered better where to find information rather than the information itself.

‍

The data on digital amnesia seem worrisome:

• According to a 2015 study by Kaspersky Lab, 91 percent of people in the United States and Europe admitted to using the Internet as an online extension of their memory
• Only 49% of participants could remember their spouse's phone number
• 71% could not remember their children's phone numbers

Microsoft-Carnegie Mellon Research: The First Data On AI.

A 2025 study conducted by researchers from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University analyzed 319 knowledge workers and their use of generative AI tools. The results show that:

• Workers report a "perceived implementation of critical thinking" when relying on AI tools
• The use of AI produced "a less diverse set of outcomes for the same task" than people who relied on their own cognitive abilities
• There is a tendency to "cognitive offloading"-delegating mental processes to external tools

But Wait: Not All "De-Workouts" Are the Same

Before continuing, let us make a critical reflection. This phenomenon is not new:

‍

The Calculator

Who can still do long division by hand? The calculator has been "de-training" us in mental calculation for decades. Yet, mathematics is not dead - in fact, it has flourished. Freed from tedious calculations, mathematicians have focused on more complex and creative problems.

‍

Scripture vs. Oral Memory

Socrates himself feared that writing would weaken memory. In Plato's dialogue Phaedrus (ca. 370 BC), Socrates recounts the Egyptian myth of Theuth and Thamus, where Theuth presents writing as an invention that will improve wisdom and memory. But King Thamus retorts, "This invention will produce forgetfulness in the souls of those who learn it: they will stop exercising memory because they will rely on writing, which is external."

He was right: the storytellers who recited the entire Iliad by heart are gone. But we have gained the ability to preserve and share complex ideas on a global scale.

‍

The Press vs. the Calligraphy

Gutenberg's printing press (1440) made beautiful handwriting obsolete. Before printing, 80 percent of English adults in 14th-century Europe could not even write their own names. By 1650, however, 47 percent of Europeans could read. By the mid-1800s, the number had risen to 62 percent.

We lost an art, but democratized knowledge. As noted by historians, "The net increase in literacy broke the monopoly of the literate elite on education and learning and supported the emerging middle class."

‍

The pattern is clear: each technological leap "de-trains" some capabilities and enhances others.

So What IS the Difference with AI?

If every technology "de-trains" something, why should AI concern us more? The difference lies in three critical factors:

‍

1. Speed and Pervasiveness

Electronic pocket calculators, marketed since 1971, replaced complex mental computation within about 15 to 20 years. AI is replacing critical thinking in less than 5 years.

‍

‍Wecan nolonger think in terms of generations as we did in the past-now we have to think in cycles of 5 years, not 20-30.

‍

Speed matters: the brain has less time to adapt and develop new compensatory skills. Human societies have traditionally evolved slowly, allowing institutions, education and culture to gradually adapt to technological change. But AI compresses this adaptation process by decades to decades, creating an unprecedented cultural and cognitive shock.

‍

2. Extent of Cognitive Offloading

• Calculator: replaces arithmetic calculations
• GPS: replaces space navigation
• AI: replaces reasoning, creativity, writing, analysis - soft skills that we use in every field

3. Lack of Metacognition

With the calculator, you know you can't do long division. With AI, you often don't notice that you have stopped thinking critically. It is a silent, unconscious decline.

‍

The Theory of AI-Induced Cognitive Atrophy.

The concept of "AI chatbot-induced cognitive atrophy" (AICICA), theorized in a 2024 study, is based on the "use it or lose it" principle of brain development, arguing that over-reliance on AIs without simultaneous cultivation of core cognitive skills can lead to underutilization of cognitive abilities.

‍

A 2009 academic research paper published in Symbolae Osloenses had already made this parallel with the calculator: "The pocket calculator allows us to produce solutions to computational problems, but does it enable us to know these solutions? It depends on what we mean by knowing here. If it means that we should also be able to justify the solutions, explain why they are really the right ones, then definitely not."

‍

"It's Not a Bug, It's a Feature": Cognitive Dependence by Design.

‍

But here's the twist: cognitive dependence may not be a side effect, but a design feature.

‍

Crucial difference: the calculator did not need you to become an employee to be profitable. AI does. The more you use it, the more data it generates, the more it is refined, the more indispensable it becomes. It is a dependency-based business model.

‍

It is a self-feeding cycle: the more effective AI is, the more dependent we become. The more dependent we are, the less we exercise our capabilities. The less we exercise them, the more we need AI. It's like developing a tolerance from a substance: you need larger and larger doses to get the same effect.

‍

The Paradox of Cognitive Freedom: When Being Free Makes Us Prisoners

‍

Medicine

Research from 2024 published in Perspectives on Psychological Science warns that in radiology, where artificial intelligence is increasingly being used, physicians are at risk of gradually losing their intuitive diagnostic skills. But beware: AI is freeing radiologists from the routine analysis of thousands of normal scans, allowing them to focus on complex, atypical cases. The risk is not that AI will replace diagnosis, but that doctors will stop training their "clinical eye" on trivial cases-which often hide subtle details crucial to recognizing rare abnormalities.

‍

Programming

Research from 2025 highlights an interesting phenomenon: developers who constantly rely on AI to write code develop a kind of cognitive dependency. AI excels at generating boilerplate code and standard functions-repetitive work that used to steal precious hours. The problem: freed from these tedious tasks, some programmers stop exercising algorithmic thinking even when it is really needed. It's like a surgeon who uses robotic tools for routine operations but then struggles to operate manually in emergencies.

‍

Education

As educator Trevor Muir explains, "I don't think teachers should use AI with students in writing until students have first mastered it." AI can correct grammar, suggest synonyms, even structure essays-all activities that previously required hours of manual revision. The hidden value: those seemingly "useless" mistakes and effort are actually training for the brain. It's like learning to drive a manual transmission before the automatic: it seems harder, but it develops a control and understanding of the medium that the automatic cannot give.

It is like learning to drive: first you have to develop reflexes and road intuition through "inefficient" practice, then you can use cruise control safely.

‍

As Socrates predicted in the Phaedrus: "You will provide your students with the appearance of wisdom, not its reality. Your invention will enable them to hear many things without being properly instructed, and they will imagine that they have come to know much while for the most part they will know nothing."

‍

The Test of "Imaginary Substitution" (Revisited)

Instead of asking "Can AI do this?" try this updated thought experiment, "If everyone used AI for this tomorrow, what would we lose as a species? And what would we gain?"

‍

• Writing: Would we lose the ability to articulate complex thoughts → But would we gain time for deeper thoughts?
• Navigation: Would we lose spatial sense → But would we gain efficiency in travel?
• Calculus: We have already lost mental calculation → But we have gained ability to solve more complex problems

The real question: are we aware of the consequences of our choices?

‍

The Strategy of Cognitive Resilience: How Not to Be Replaced by Your Assistant

‍

1. Use AI to Amplify, Not to Forget

"Use AI to amplify your skills, not to forget them. Let it free you from strenuous work so you can focus on the creative and complex aspects -- but don't let those core skills atrophy through disuse."

‍

2. Keep the "Cognitive Muscles" Trained

It's exactly like physical training: if you stop going to the gym for two months, you don't notice it when you look in the mirror-you look the same. But as soon as you try lifting a heavy weight or running stairs, you immediately feel the difference. Your muscles have silently weakened.

‍Cognitive atrophy is even more insidious: not only do you not notice it while it's happening, but often you don't even notice it when you need that ability-you simply delegate to AI without realizing that you once would have been able to do it yourself.

‍

3. Practice the "First Without, Then With" rule.

To maintain our cognitive abilities, we need to practice core skills directly before delegating them to AI, and even after delegating them we still need to keep training them. It is not a matter of "fundamental" vs. "superfluous" skills, but of keeping the mind trained.

‍

Just like a chess player who always uses the computer to analyze moves: he becomes technically accurate, but if he never reasons independently, he loses strategic intuition and the ability to 'feel' the position.

‍

The Future: AI As Collaborator, Not Crutch

‍

The solution is not to reject AI, but to use it strategically. The professionals who will thrive will be those who combine their human intuition and experience with the superpowers of AI-those who know when to delegate and when to think independently, while always maintaining control of the decision-making process.

‍

Conclusion: It's a Feature, Not a Bug (But Which Feature?).

The cognitive atrophy caused by AI is not a defect to be corrected-it is a design consequence that we must consciously recognize and manage.

But beware: not all "de-training" is bad. The calculator freed us from tedious computation, the printing press from oral memory, the GPS from the need to learn every road.

The real challenge is to distinguish:

• When de-training is liberating (frees up cognitive resources for more important things)
• When it is depleting (reduces skills we need to think independently)

The question is not whether AI will replace us, but whether we will be aware enough to choose what to replace and what to keep trained. The future belongs to those who know when NOT to use AI.

‍

FAQ: The Most Common Questions About AI and Cognitive Atrophy.

"Is AI making me stupid?"

No, it is not making you stupid. AI is making you cognitively lazy in some specific areas, just as GPS has made you lazy in navigation. Your basic intelligence doesn't change, but you risk losing the habit of using it in certain contexts. Fortunately, the process is reversible: all you have to do is resume training.

‍

"Is it true that ChatGPT destroys the brain?"

Absolutely not. The sensationalist studies you read in the papers are often based on preliminary research with small samples. There is no scientific evidence that AI use causes brain damage. The problem is more subtle: it may reduce the motivation to think independently, not the ability to do so.

‍

"Should I stop using AI?"

No, that would be counterproductive. AI is a powerful tool that can amplify your capabilities. The key is to use it strategically: let it handle repetitive and boring tasks, but keep critical skills active. It's like going to the gym: go ahead and use the machines, but don't forget the free-body exercises.

‍

"Will my children grow up less intelligent?"

Not necessarily. Children who grow up with AI might develop different skills from ours: greater ability to collaborate with intelligent systems, faster thinking in selecting information, creativity in combining multiple resources. The risk is that they miss key formative steps.

‍

‍Butthe real challenge will be the same for everyone-children and adults: learning to balance cognitive autonomy and AI collaboration. Children may even have an advantage, growing up naturally "bilingual" in both modes.

‍

"Will AI completely replace human labor?"

Not in the sense you think. AI does not eliminate any "professional roles" entirely, in fact, but transforms individual tasks within existing roles. And this is generating three simultaneous phenomena:

‍

1. Automation by layers: AI first replaces more routine tasks, then increasingly complex ones. An accountant might see basic calculations automated first, then trend analysis, then even some of the strategic consulting. The work gradually transforms, not suddenly disappears.

‍

2. Polarization of value: A division is being created between those who can effectively collaborate with AI (and become more productive) and those who cannot (and become obsolete). It is no longer enough to be good in your field-you have to be good in your field + AI.

‍

3. New bottlenecks: As AI handles analysis and routines, skills that seemed "soft" become crucial: complex negotiation, leadership in ambiguous situations, creativity applied to problems never seen before. Paradoxically, the more capable AI becomes, the more "human" skills are worth.

‍

The real question is not "Will my work disappear?" but "What parts of my work can I delegate to AI today to focus on those that only I can do?" And then, six months from now, you have to ask the same question again.

‍

The paradox of mobile competence: the better you get at collaborating with AI, the faster you have to reinvent your role. Professionals of the future will no longer have a fixed "core business," but a meta competency: being able to quickly identify where to add human value in a landscape that changes every quarter.

‍

"Is it normal that I can no longer write without AI?"

It is normal but not inevitable. If you have developed an addiction to AI for writing, you can "detoxify" gradually. Start with short texts without assistance, then gradually increase the complexity. It's like getting in shape after a sedentary period: it's tiring at first, but strength quickly returns.

‍

"Will AI make me lose creativity?"

Only if you use it badly. AI can be a great creative partner if you use it to brainstorm, overcome blocks, or explore unexpected directions. The risk is using it as a substitute for your creativity instead of an amplifier. Golden rule: the idea must always start with you; AI can help you develop it.

‍

"How can I tell if I'm using AI too much?"

Take this test: try doing without AI a task you normally delegate (writing an important email, solving a problem, doing a calculation). If you feel "lost" or much slower than normal, you are probably becoming too dependent on your digital assistant. Try working the way you used to once in a while.

‍

"Will AI make schooling useless?"

This is the most difficult question. Traditional education is based on exercises (writing, calculations, research) that AI now does better than students. The dilemma: If you don't practice these skills because "there's AI anyway," how do you develop critical thinking to evaluate when AI gets it wrong? But if you keep having them practice things that AI does better, education seems anachronistic. ‍ You'll probably need a hybrid approach: develop basic skills through hands-on practice, then learn how to orchestrate AI tools for complex goals."

"Is it just a passing fad?"

No, AI is here to stay. But like all technological revolutions, after the initial excitement there will come a settling-in period when we will learn to use it better. "Cognitive offloading" is a real and enduring phenomenon, but we can consciously manage it instead of passively undergoing it.

‍

Remember: the next time you are about to ask the AI to write that email, stop and ask yourself - am I amplifying my abilities or atrophying them?