I remember being fascinated by the astronomy already as a kid. I watched astronauts floating effortlessly, “struggling” with all the basic tasks like brushing teeth or eating (or sucking that floating blob of water in the air – almost as mesmerising as ferrofluids!). But what I found most fascinating that all astronauts needed to go through more extensive exercise regime (2.5 hours per day, six days per week!) to maintain their bodies. This is, I later learned, because when working in a weightless (microgravity) environment, very little muscle contraction is needed to support their bodies or move around. And without regular use and exercise our muscles weaken and deteriorate, a process called atrophy. In zero gravity, astronauts lose up to 15% of their muscle mass in just 14 days. Their bodies, no longer fighting against Earth’s pull, quickly decide that maintaining muscle isn’t worth the energy cost.
Our brains operate on similar principles of efficiency. When AI handles our cognitive heavy lifting – completing our thoughts, fixing our sloppy typos, solving our problems, crafting our expressions– our neural pathways begin to atrophy.
Your handwriting probably got worse since you started typing everything. Hurts already when you write down a longer grocery list, so you result to voice-to-text? Well, I’ve got some bad news for you. The same principle applies to your thinking when AI does it for you. You’re becoming dumb.
A double edged sword that keeps poking holes in our memory
I am a huge tech optimist and I welcome most inventions. So naturally, when ChatGPT and (still my favourite) Claude arrived, I spent lots of time interacting with them. At first, I was telling myself that I’m being efficient, that it helps me do the foundational research (which I can then double-check), but then I began asking it for ideas to write stuff (tight self-imposed deadlines are a good enough excuse?), or ways on how I could express something, and then to give me example paragraphs of text that sounded like my past self, but it wasn’t myself. Definitely not with all ‘In the realm of’, ‘You know what’s funny?’ ‘The irony isn’t lost on me’, “The real kicker?” – kind of overused by AI conversational bridges. It was missing my style (including silly errors) and witty humour. And for some reason, it made me less excited about completing my article. Partly because I love the beginnings. The feeling of empty canvas and a rush of crazy, seemingly unrelated concepts, ideas and comparisons.
Now I felt like the roles have switched and I were to clean the mess that AI has made in my head, and on the screen.
So I chose to limit my use of AI in creative endeavours like this blog.
Humans navigate towards easy paths, even though we know we need struggle to grow.
If you’re also guilty of overdosing on AI assistants, try writing a complex argument without AI assistance. Notice how your thoughts might feel sluggish, your vocabulary more limited. That’s not just preference for convenience – it’s your brain showing you exactly which muscles you’ve let weaken.
This is what research in embodied cognition would predict. If we don’t engage in in active cognitive labour, our cognitive capacities begin to diminish. It is for this reason that we are advised to learn languages, dance, play Soduko and different – than our usual work stuff- things, as we age to slow down our mental decline. This is as important as keeping in good shape. As they say:
Mens sana in corpore sano
Latin phrase, usually translated as “a healthy mind in a healthy body”, Satire X (c. 2nd century AD) of the Roman poet Juvenal (10.356)
This is what research in embodied cognition would predict. If we don’t engage in in active cognitive labour, our cognitive capacities will diminish. It is for this reason that we are advised to learn languages, dance, play Soduko and similar things as we age to slow down our mental decline.
Biological reflex and reaction time decline
Scientists have mapped out how our processing speed naturally declines – about 2-3% per decade after 25. It’s a slow, graceful descent. But there are people who try to reverse that or at least slow it substantially. Like Bryan Johnson – the main figure now for #longevity. Lots of what he’s doing to his body is questionable to say the least, but it’s an undeniable fact that he and his team of scientists raise visibility on important aspects of our physical existence. Like that there is a strong link between maintaining healthy body for a healthy mind (ok, we’ve known that one for centuries).
Your brain is deeply connected to every push-up, sprint, and squat you do. When you exercise, you’re not just building muscle; you’re flooding your brain with BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor), sometimes called “Miracle-Gro for your brain.” Every time your heart rate spikes, you’re sending fresh oxygen and nutrients to your neurons, essentially giving them their own high-intensity workout. Physically fit people consistently show faster processing speeds, better memory, and sharper reaction times.
That means your brain, like our muscles is basically a “use it or lose it” machine. When we stop using certain neural pathways by outsourcing more of our thinking to AI, our brain decides “well, if you’re not using this, might as well clean it up” and starts pruning those synaptic connections.
The neuroscience perspective on your brain
Good news: our brains are adaptable.
Bad news: they’re adapting to be AI-dependent.
The brain is basically a “use it or lose it” machine. When we stop using certain neural pathways, our brain decides “well, if you’re not using this, might as well clean it up” and starts pruning those connections. It’s called synaptic pruning, and it’s happening right now as we outsource more of our thinking to AI.
Our brains actually get stronger when we struggle with problems. And the opposite is true. Scientists found that people who regularly use GPS show less activity in their hippocampus – the part of the brain involved in spatial navigation and memory. I am guilty of that. If you spun me around in circles a few times in London, and took away my phone, I probably wouldn’t know how to get home.
We’re also little sneaky junkies.
When AI instantly completes our thoughts or tasks, we get a little hit of dopamine. Quick reward, minimal effort. Over time, this can make the slower, more demanding process of thinking things through feel unrewarding (kind of like how scrolling through Instagram makes reading a book feel painfully slow).
Our brains actually get stronger when we struggle with problems.
The kids are[n’t] all right.
When AI removes that productive struggle, we might be missing out on crucial neural development. This is especially scary for kids whose brains are still developing. Today’s kids are growing up with AI as their cognitive crutch. How to differentiate what’s truth, how to solve simple problems without need for computers? How to navigate in the real world? How will they learn the art of bullshitting their way through presentation when AI always provides the perfect answer? [ok, I guess management consulting won’t be a desirable profession for much longer] What happens when zombie attack?
There are less real-life interactions and more and more kids (ok, adults as well) choose to engage with their imaginary, AI friends because it’s less effort. Dating scene is not getting any sexier or exciting. Dating apps were supposed to augment our dating lives, now many can’t approach people in real life.
Schools are scrambling to adapt. Remember when calculators were controversial? Now some US states and Australia are banning phones and computers altogether, desperately trying to preserve what’s left of natural learning.
Meanwhile, we’re paying premium prices to have our phones locked away in little boxes at concerts – somehow, we need to pay extra to experience life directly. Artists say it’s nearly impossible to connect with an audience more focused on capturing the perfect Instagram story than experiencing the actual moment.
Parallel with dating apps: they were supposed to augment our dating lives, now many can’t approach people in real life
Who is the expert here? You or it?
I recently read a comment from a well respected researcher, how she was left perplexed after reading an analysis of a new presidential poll in one of the portals.
She said:
I would be willing to bet a great deal of money on the fact that this analysis was written by artificial intelligence. I can recognise it, it is not very difficult. This article was signed by a journalist. What should I think of her? I need writing to think in a structured way. What I write down is usually better than what I say, because it is more thoughtful. How, then, should I treat tools that write things down for me? How should I treat the people who use these tools to write?
Who has the real expertise – the person who knows how to do something, or the person who knows how to prompt AI to do it? Are we becoming cyborgs who can’t function without our external brain, or are we just evolving to use different cognitive skills? (Or is that second option just what we tell ourselves to feel better about the first?)
The social cost of this bloody brilliant invention is real. So bloody that AI is brain draining us into sewage. You can spot it in conversations – that slight delay while someone reaches for their phone, that glazed look when they can’t Google the answer mid-discussion. It happens to me too.
I feel we’re becoming a generation of intellectual middlemen, excellent at asking AI the right questions but increasingly terrible at coming up with our own answers. Sure, you might argue we’re just being efficient, not reinventing the wheel when the answer is probably somewhere out there and now, so easily reachable. But there’s something deeply unsettling about watching previously sharp minds turn into a lazy ass blob.
We’re starting to lose our ability to recognise true expertise (at least on LinkedIn, where most of the ‘brilliant’ expertise posts are just minced through AI engine and spiced with rewrite–maintaining-my-natural-conversational-tone-of-voice” prompts).
And maybe the most dangerous part is that we’re not just losing our edge. We might not even notice when it’s gone.
Are we becoming cyborgs who can’t function without our external brain, or are we just evolving to use different cognitive skills? (And is that second option just what we tell ourselves to feel better about the first?)
How to get brain sharp like a Japanese knife
Ok, by now I hope I scared you a little so you get your shit together (that applies to me too). Good. I need you to stay sharp for when Skynet’s Judgement Day finally arrives and we need to figure out quickly how to turn off their power supply. Hasta la vista, Baby.
I don’t know what annoys me more. Candy Crush-like apps pretending to be “brain training” or people thinking scrolling through TikToks looking to learn something educational. If you want to keep your mental edge (or get it back), you need to make your brain sweat.
Write. Like I do. I hate it. But each time, a little bit less. (Unless I have more than a week’s break, then my hatred level goes back to 100%). Write longhand – the physical act engages different neural pathways than typing. Plus, you can’t copy-paste or auto-complete with a pen. Your brain has to do the heavy lifting.
First, put your phone in its place. It’s a tool, not your external brain. Write that first draft yourself, even if it feels basic. Let AI be your editor, not your ghostwriter. The clarity that comes from wrestling with your own thoughts? That’s irreplaceable.
If you want to combine it with growing your professional visibility, start a blog or newsletter. Don’t escape to another tab looking for your next dopamine hit. Welcome the struggle.
Read books that make you uncomfortable. Not self-help stuff – I’m talking dense, challenging material that forces you to pause and think. When was the last time you read something that made your brain hurt? That’s the feeling we’re after. (Ok, leave Quantum Physics for later). After that, try explaining this complex thing without reaching for Google or Claude. Simplify it yourself, but smartly.
Have real conversations. Debate ideas. Defend your positions. Get comfortable being wrong. Some of my friends swear by Toastmasters. Just find someone who will challenge you.
Learn something completely new that has nothing to do with your job. At the moment I’m attending classes for bachata, drawing and painting, and doing ceramics. I mean something that makes you feel like an absolute beginner. A language, an instrument, martial arts – anything that forces your brain to think differently and rewire.
Try explaining something complex without reaching for Google or Claude.
.
Otherwise, we’ll end up being those blobs from Wall-E. Next thing you know, they’ll be selling us “organic thinking” workshops where we learn how to have original thoughts without AI assistance.
And I bet people will line up to pay for that too.
Cover photo: Andrea Hanson, NASA
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