Joe Pierre M.D. 乔·皮埃尔 医学博士

Psych Unseen 心理万象

Artificial Intelligence

人工智能

Your Brain on AI: Cognitive Offloading, Debt, and Atrophy

AI如何影响你的大脑：认知卸载、债务与萎缩

Mounting evidence suggests that relying on AI can hamper learning.

越来越多的证据表明，依赖AI会阻碍学习。

Key points

关键要点

I cheated in school as a kid. Sort of. 我小时候在学校作弊过。算是吧。

When I was in junior high, I gave other students the answers to homework and test questions. 初中时，我把家庭作业和考试题的答案给了其他同学。

I did it because they asked and because, as someone lying somewhere on the nerd spectrum, I wanted to be liked. 我这么做是因为他们要求，也因为作为一个处于书呆子范畴某处的人，我想被喜欢。

Of course, giving out answers wasn't helping the other kids learn, so you could argue that I was doing them a disservice by enabling them to cheat. 当然，给出答案并不能帮助其他孩子学习，所以你可以说，我让他们作弊是在帮倒忙。

As a parent now, I make my elementary school child do extra-curricular homework. 现在作为家长，我让我上小学的孩子做课外作业。

I choose work that challenges him beyond the classroom, and I help him through it, but although he might ask for the easy way out, I never do the work for him. 我挑选那些能让他超越课堂挑战的作业，并帮助他完成，但尽管他可能想走捷径，我从不替他做作业。

That would, after all, defeat the whole purpose of having him do it in the first place. 那样做，毕竟会违背让他做这件事的初衷。

Kids today probably don't ask other students for the answers anymore. 如今的孩子可能不再向其他同学索要答案了。

Or at least not as much. 或者至少不那么多了。

Why would they, when they can just ask an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot instead? 他们何必呢？直接问人工智能聊天机器人不就好了？

Cognitive Debt, Laziness, and Atrophy

认知债务、懒惰与萎缩

AI technology is increasingly being incorporated into education, from elementary school through college. AI技术正日益融入教育，从小学到大学。

Often, this is happening with an "integrate first" philosophy that reserves questions about safety and utility for later.1,2 通常，这是在“先整合”的理念下进行的，将安全和效用问题留待以后解决。1,2

The underlying justification—put forth by the companies with a financial stake in the success of AI and which are signing multi-million dollar contracts with schools to implement their products—is that AI dominance is an inevitability, so kids need to get familiar with it so they don't get left behind. 其根本理由——由那些在AI成功中拥有经济利益、并与学校签署数百万美元合同以实施其产品的公司提出——是AI主导地位是不可避免的，所以孩子们需要熟悉它，以免落后。

And yet, both students and parents now worry about whether AI is really helping or actually hurting kids. 然而，现在学生和家长都担心AI是在真正帮助孩子，还是在伤害他们。

Some are saying that they even hate AI, both because it's being forced upon them and because of fears that it might be counter-productive to learning by breeding cognitive laziness.2 一些人甚至说他们讨厌AI，既因为它被强加给他们，也因为他们担心AI可能通过滋生认知懒惰而对学习适得其反。2

What's the evidence that this is true? 有什么证据证明这是真的？

One of the first such claims came from an as-of-yet unpublished study from the MIT Media Lab that found lower "cognitive engagement" and "cognitive load" as measured by electroencephalography (EEG) when students used AI chatbots to complete writing tasks compared to those who used Google searches or no such aids.3 最早提出此类说法之一来自麻省理工学院媒体实验室一项尚未发表的研究，该研究发现，与使用谷歌搜索或不使用此类辅助工具的学生相比，使用AI聊天机器人完成写作任务的学生，其脑电图（EEG）测得的“认知投入”和“认知负荷”较低。3

Personally, I take this finding with a grain of salt, in part because I'm not convinced that EEG is the best measure of cognitive engagement, but also because the conclusions are completely unsurprising. 就我个人而言，我对这一发现持保留态度，部分原因是我并不确信脑电图是衡量认知投入的最佳方法，也因为其结论完全在意料之中。

Of course, there's lower cognitive engagement when students have chatbots write their essays for them instead of tapping into their own creativity! 当然，当学生让聊天机器人为他们写文章，而不是发挥自己的创造力时，认知投入自然会降低！

This isn't necessarily a bad thing. 这未必是件坏事。

People often use chatbots—just like they use calculators—for "cognitive offloading" to save time. 人们经常使用聊天机器人——就像他们使用计算器一样——来进行“认知卸载”以节省时间。

Still, the MIT study warned that using AI caused an "accumulation of cognitive debt" in students, suggesting that cognitive offloading comes at a price. 尽管如此，麻省理工学院的研究警告说，使用AI会导致学生“认知债务的积累”，这表明认知卸载是有代价的。

Subsequent studies have clarified what kind of cognitive debt we might incur when using AI. 后续研究阐明了我们在使用AI时可能招致何种认知债务。

One unpublished study reviewed a series of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and found causal evidence that the use of AI reduced persistence on a variety of math and reading tasks and impaired subsequent unassisted task performance.4 一项未发表的研究回顾了一系列随机对照试验（RCTs），发现了因果证据，表明使用AI降低了在各种数学和阅读任务上的坚持性，并损害了后续无辅助的任务表现。4

The authors concluded that AI assistance can improve performance in the short-term, but can impair long-term learning by denying people the "experience of working through challenges on their own." 作者总结道，AI辅助可以在短期内提高表现，但会剥夺人们“自己应对挑战的经历”，从而损害长期学习。

Another published study likewise found that relying on AI chatbot summaries for answers to questions led to "shallower knowledge" based on less effort compared to using Google searches that require "actively discovering and synthesizing information sources themselves."5 另一项已发表的研究同样发现，与使用需要“主动发现和综合信息来源”的谷歌搜索相比，依赖AI聊天机器人摘要来获取问题答案会导致基于更少努力的“更肤浅的知识”。5

This reduction in longer-term performance and depth of knowledge has been described as "cognitive atrophy"3 or "cognitive surrender."6 这种长期表现和知识深度的下降被描述为“认知萎缩”3或“认知投降”。6

Two other studies produced similar conclusions. 另外两项研究得出了类似的结论。

One peer-reviewed, survey-based study found a negative association between the use of "AI tools" and self-reported critical thinking skills (based on responses to questions like "How often do you critically evaluate the sources of information you encounter?").7 一项经过同行评审、基于调查的研究发现，“AI工具”的使用与自我报告的批判性思维能力（基于对诸如“你多久会批判性地评估所遇到的信息来源？”等问题的回答）之间存在负相关。7

The other RCT compared the effects of ChatGPT as a study aid to traditional non-AI methods on knowledge retention, tested 45 days later, and found that AI chatbot use impaired knowledge retention, presumably by "reducing the cognitive effort that supports durable memory," consistent with cognitive laziness and atrophy.8 另一项随机对照试验比较了ChatGPT作为学习辅助工具与传统非AI方法对知识保留的影响，在45天后进行测试，发现AI聊天机器人的使用损害了知识保留，推测是通过“减少支持持久记忆的认知努力”，这与认知懒惰和萎缩是一致的。8

The authors conclude that AI chatbots are a kind of "cognitive crutch" that provides immediate support, but weakens rather than strengthens learning. 作者的结论是，AI聊天机器人是一种“认知拐杖”，能提供即时支持，但会削弱而非加强学习。

To be fair, this summary of existing research isn't exhaustive, and several of the studies, as mentioned, are unpublished and non-peer-reviewed preprints. 公平地说，对现有研究的这一总结并非详尽无遗，而且如前所述，有几项研究是未发表且未经同行评审的预印本。

But the findings are fairly consistent in supporting that the potential cognitive offloading benefits of AI in education may come at the cost of limiting depth of knowledge, knowledge retention, and critical thinking. 但研究结果相当一致地支持这一点：AI在教育中潜在的认知卸载益处，可能以限制知识深度、知识保留和批判性思维为代价。

AI Literacy

AI素养

Returning to the comparison of AI chatbots to calculators, we might think of the dilemma as follows: There's no doubt that calculators can save us time and potentially reduce error, but if we don't know or remember how to do long division or trigonometry, then calculators won't help us learn or reinforce those skills. 回到将AI聊天机器人与计算器进行比较，我们可以这样思考这个困境：毫无疑问，计算器可以节省我们的时间并可能减少错误，但如果我们不知道或不记得如何进行长除法或三角学，那么计算器就无法帮助我们学习或巩固这些技能。

We won't know if the calculator is right or wrong if we don't know how to double-check it. 如果我们不知道如何复核，我们就无法知道计算器是对是错。

And if our calculator battery dies, we're left stranded. 而如果我们的计算器电池没电了，我们就会束手无策。

So it is with AI, especially for students who need to learn. AI也是如此，尤其是对于需要学习的学生而言。

You can't cognitively offload if you never onloaded in the first place.1 如果你从未进行过认知加载，你就无法进行认知卸载。1

Here's something else to consider: A recent survey found that 65 percent of young adults aged 18 to 28 years used AI chatbots as a replacement for Google searches.9 还有一点需要考虑：最近的一项调查发现，65%的18至28岁年轻人使用AI聊天机器人替代谷歌搜索。9

When users search Google and get an AI summary, they're half as likely to click on any of the search results.10 当用户搜索谷歌并得到一个AI摘要时，他们点击任何搜索结果的可能性减半。10

Meanwhile, Google's AI overviews are inaccurate anywhere from 10 to 28 percent of the time.11 与此同时，谷歌的AI概览有10%到28%的时间是不准确的。11

That might not seem like a lot, but since there's an estimated 5 trillion Google searches a year, we're talking about a potentially massive amount of misinformation being spread by AI.12 这可能看起来不多，但鉴于估计每年有5万亿次谷歌搜索，我们谈论的是AI可能传播的大量错误信息。12

So, beyond its effects on cognitive atrophy, it can lead people to accept patently false answers at face value. 因此，除了其对认知萎缩的影响外，它还会导致人们不假思索地接受明显错误的答案。

A new Congressional bill was recently introduced, awarding National Science Foundation grants to integrate "AI literacy" into K-12 curricula.13 最近提出了一项新的国会法案，授予国家科学基金会拨款，将“AI素养”融入K-12课程。13

The bill defines literacy as "having age-appropriate knowledge and ability to use [AI] effectively, to critically interpret outputs, to solve problems in an AI-enabled world, and to mitigate potential risks." 该法案将素养定义为“拥有与年龄相适应的知识和能力，以有效使用[AI]，批判性地解释输出，在AI驱动的世界中解决问题，并减轻潜在风险。”

The definition of AI literacy seems woefully inadequate to me. 在我看来，这个AI素养的定义似乎严重不足。

How can we teach people—and kids—to "critically interpret outputs" and recognize information if we're talking AI-distilled answers at face value and using AI as a cognitive crutch that leaves our brains hobbled? 如果我们不假思索地接受AI提炼的答案，并将AI用作让我们大脑受损的认知拐杖，我们如何教导人们——以及孩子们——去“批判性地解释输出”并识别信息？

AI literacy should include a firm understanding of how AI chatbots really work, their potential to churn out misinformation and "hallucinations," and their risk of causing harms related to learning and mental health, including suicide, psychosis, and even violent behavior. AI素养应该包括对AI聊天机器人如何真正运作、其产生错误信息和“幻觉”的潜力，以及其造成与学习和心理健康相关危害的风险的坚定理解，这些危害包括自杀、精神病甚至暴力行为。

AI Enables Cheating

AI助长作弊

Some students say they're not trying to use AI to cheat; they're just trying to "streamline their studies, become more efficient, and boost their learning."14 一些学生说他们并非试图使用AI作弊；他们只是想“简化学习过程，提高效率，并促进学习”。14

But others openly admit that cheating is, in fact, rampant in school—even at top universities like Columbia and Yale.15,16 但其他人则公开承认，作弊实际上在学校中很普遍——即使在哥伦比亚和耶鲁这样的顶尖大学也是如此。15,16

Much like I did back in junior high, AI chatbots enable children—and adults—to take the easy way out by doing the work for them and giving them an answer. 就像我初中时做的那样，AI聊天机器人使儿童——以及成人——能够走捷径，替他们完成工作并给出答案。

But in doing so, the chatbots are cheating, and by accepting their use as an inevitability, we're cheating ourselves and our kids. 但这样做，聊天机器人就是在作弊，而通过接受其使用是不可避免的，我们是在欺骗自己和我们的孩子。

And as one college professor reminds us, rather than preparing us for the future, if we let AI do our jobs, then AI may very well take our jobs.16 正如一位大学教授提醒我们的那样，如果我们让AI做我们的工作，那么AI很可能就会取代我们的工作，而不是为我们未来做准备。16

For the record, when I help my son with his homework, I do sometimes use a calculator to check his math. 需要说明的是，当我帮助儿子做作业时，我确实有时会用计算器检查他的数学。

But when he gets something wrong, I go through it with him, writing out the problem by hand. 但当他做错时，我会和他一起仔细检查，用手写出问题。

Sometimes I have to reacquaint myself with math I last used almost a half-century ago. 有时我不得不重新熟悉我差不多半个世纪前最后用过的数学。

It takes time, but I think both he and I are the better for it. 这需要时间，但我认为他和我都因此变得更好。

After all, the effort is part of the point. 毕竟，努力本身就是意义的一部分。

词汇 (Vocabulary)

短语 (Phrases)