Artificial intelligence experts are warning that widespread adoption of AI tools could force humanity to confront a fundamental question about identity and purpose. As generative AI systems like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, and similar platforms become embedded in daily tasks ranging from tax preparation to creative writing, researchers are documenting measurable declines in critical thinking, memory retention, and problem-solving skills among frequent users.

The technology performs concrete functions: generating written content, solving complex mathematical problems, producing visual art, and providing instant answers to knowledge-based questions. These tools are freely available or offered through subscription tiers ranging from 10 to 20 dollars monthly for premium features. Major tech companies including Google, Microsoft, and Meta are investing billions to develop AI agents capable of performing tasks autonomously on behalf of users.

Real-world impact extends beyond convenience. A 2025 study by Michael Gerlich at SBS Swiss Business School tested 666 people in the UK and found a significant correlation between frequent AI use and diminished critical-thinking abilities. Younger participants who demonstrated higher dependency on AI tools scored measurably lower in critical thinking assessments compared to older adults who used the technology less frequently.

Brain Activity Drops When ChatGPT Handles Cognitive Work

Research conducted at MIT Media Lab examined brain activity in 54 students from Greater Boston using electroencephalography monitoring. Students were divided into three groups: one permitted to use ChatGPT, another allowed internet and Google access, and a third restricted to their own knowledge.

The results revealed stark differences. The ChatGPT group demonstrated substantially less brain activity during the writing task. Their essays also displayed minimal variation, with most participants focusing primarily on career choices as determinants of happiness.

More concerning was the retention gap. When asked to quote a single line from their own essays just one minute after submission, 83% of ChatGPT users could not recall any content. This compared to only 11% in the internet and control groups.

‘Your brain needs struggle,’ explained Nataliya Kos’myna, the MIT research scientist who led the study. Tasks must be appropriately challenging for neural pathways to develop and strengthen.

The Guardian reported on similar findings showing cognitive offloading effects across multiple skill areas, from navigation abilities weakened by GPS dependence to attention spans fractured by social media algorithms.

IQ Scores Declining After Decades of Gains

The Flynn effect, which documented rising IQ scores across successive generations from 1930 through the early 2000s, has reversed in multiple developed nations. James Flynn himself identified that average IQ scores among 14-year-olds in the UK dropped by more than two points between 1980 and 2008.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) recorded unprecedented declines in mathematics, reading, and science scores across many regions. Young people also demonstrated weaker critical thinking abilities and shorter attention spans compared to previous cohorts.

Elizabeth Dworak at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine identified similar patterns in a large US population sample tested between 2006 and 2018. However, she cautioned against attributing the decline solely to AI.

Intelligence is shaped by numerous variables including micronutrients like iodine that affect brain development, prenatal care quality, years of education, pollution exposure, pandemics, and technology. Isolating a single factor’s impact remains methodologically challenging.

AI Agents and the End of Human Labour

Professor Yu Xiong at the University of Surrey predicts AI and robotics will render most human labour obsolete within the next decade. This transformation extends beyond manufacturing to knowledge work, creative industries, and service sectors.

While many fear mass unemployment, Xiong argues the outcome could liberate people from survival-driven work for the first time in history. In a future where robots produce food, housing, clothing, and transportation, material wealth becomes abundant and loses its role as society’s primary status marker.

“When survival is no longer the driver, people do not become idle — they become free,” Xiong stated in an April 2025 interview. He believes reputation, trust, and intellectual contributions will replace money as the new currencies of value.

Similar to how the Wright Brothers and Albert Einstein are remembered for their contributions rather than wealth accumulation, Xiong expects recognition of original ideas and peer respect to become paramount markers of success. This shift echoes concerns raised by employment displacement warnings from industry leaders tracking how AI reshapes workforce dynamics.

Creativity and Diversity Both Change Under AI Influence

Studies show AI helps individuals generate more creative ideas than they produce independently. However, population-level analysis reveals AI-generated concepts cluster around similar themes and approaches, reducing overall diversity.

This homogenization means fewer breakthrough insights emerge. Robert Sternberg at Cornell University, known for new intelligence research, captured this concern in the Journal of Intelligence: “Generative AI is replicative. It can recombine and re-sort ideas, but it is not clear that it will generate the kinds of paradigm-breaking ideas the world needs to solve serious problems.”

Marko Müller from the University of Ulm found younger people demonstrate higher creativity when using social media compared to older generations. The difference appears to stem from active versus passive engagement. Younger users share ideas and collaborate openly, while older users consume content more passively.

The distinction between active and passive AI use may determine whether the technology enhances or diminishes human creativity. John Kounios from Drexel University explained that genuine moments of insight trigger neural reward systems, reinforcing learning and driving further creative behaviour. AI-generated insights lack this neurological reward, potentially weakening long-term creative development.

International Experts Predict AI Will Make Humans Worse at Being Human

Elon University surveyed 301 technology leaders, analysts, and academics about AI’s impact over the next decade. The April 2026 report included responses from Vint Cerf, a Google vice president and one of the internet’s architects, and Jonathan Grudin, a University of Washington professor and former Microsoft researcher.

More than 60% of respondents expect AI will transform human capabilities in deep, fundamental ways by 2035. Half predicted changes will bring equal measures of benefit and harm, while 23% anticipated mostly negative outcomes.

Respondents identified 12 human traits likely to experience mostly negative changes by 2035: social and emotional intelligence, capacity for deep thinking, empathy, moral judgment application, and mental well-being.

Only three areas received predictions of mostly positive change: curiosity and learning capacity, decision-making ability, and problem-solving with innovative thinking.

Cerf warned about dependence on systems that can fail. “None of this stuff works without electricity,” he noted, highlighting infrastructure fragility as AI becomes embedded in power grids, water networks, and financial systems.

Superintelligent AI Could Arrive This Decade

Many experts believe Artificial General Intelligence, or AGI, matching human intelligence across diverse tasks could emerge before 2030. Professor Xiong considers this timeline credible.

More concerning is Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI), which would vastly exceed human cognitive abilities. ‘The danger of ASI is existential,’ Xiong warned. “It is an entity whose capabilities and motivations we may not even be able to understand.”

The threat differs from Hollywood depictions of murderous robots. Instead, highly capable systems pursuing flawed objectives could trigger catastrophic failures across interconnected infrastructure. AI does not need malicious intent to cause harm; mistakes in deeply integrated systems produce cascading consequences.

Xiong believes AI-powered robots capable of building other robots represent a realistic near-future possibility, potentially automating entire supply chains from raw material extraction to finished product manufacturing. This echoes patterns visible in recent workforce restructuring decisions at major technology companies.

Regulation Lags Behind Development Speed

Experts argue governments must accelerate AI regulation to match development pace. Xiong compared AI’s potential impact to nuclear weapons but noted software and computing power are far harder to control than uranium.

He advocates for an international regulatory framework similar to the International Atomic Energy Agency. “The governance of AI must be a matter of international cooperation, not national competition,” Xiong stated.

Richard Reisman, a nonresident senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation, described the next decade as a tipping point determining whether AI augments or de-augments humanity. “We are now being driven in the wrong direction by the dominating power of the tech-industrial complex, but we still have a chance to right that,” Reisman wrote in the Elon University report.

Frequently Asked Questions

What specific skills are declining due to AI use?

Research documents measurable declines in critical thinking, memory retention, and problem-solving abilities among frequent AI users. Studies show 83% of people using ChatGPT for writing tasks cannot recall content from their own work just minutes after completion. Brain scans reveal substantially reduced neural activity when AI handles cognitive tasks. Navigation skills, deep reading comprehension, and sustained attention also weaken as people offload these functions to digital tools.

Will AI cause mass unemployment?

Predictions vary significantly. Professor Yu Xiong expects AI and robotics to render most traditional jobs obsolete within a decade but argues this creates liberation from survival-driven work rather than catastrophe. The Elon University survey found 23% of technology experts expect mostly negative changes, while 50% anticipate equal measures of benefit and harm. New job categories may emerge that do not currently exist, though the transition period could prove disruptive for workers in affected industries.

How can people use AI without damaging cognitive abilities?

Experts recommend distinguishing between tasks where AI amplifies human capacity versus those where it replaces essential cognitive work. Michael Gerlich advocates training people to prioritize critical thinking, intuition, and uniquely human capabilities. Schools should teach students how to interact with AI appropriately rather than depend on it for thinking. Researchers suggest treating some activities like a gym workout where the goal is building personal capacity, not maximizing efficiency through automation.

Conclusion

The question AI forces humanity to answer extends beyond technological capabilities to existential purpose. When survival no longer requires work and material abundance becomes universal, people must confront what gives life meaning beyond economic productivity.

The next decade represents a critical window. Regulation, education reform, and conscious choices about AI deployment will determine whether the technology enhances human potential or accelerates cognitive decline. As Gerlich emphasized, AI will remain embedded in society; learning to interact with it properly becomes essential for preserving distinctly human capabilities.