Will AI Turn a Generation Into Copy-Paste Learners?

A recent MIT EEG study reported by Time found that students using ChatGPT showed significantly lower brain engagement during essay writing—exhibiting reduced neural, linguistic, and behavioral effort compared to peers who researched or used Google. Over time, they “got lazier with each subsequent essay,” frequently resorting to copy-and-paste, and underperformed overall.

In contrast, a comprehensive meta-analysis covering 51 studies between 2022–2025 found ChatGPT can improve learning performance (effect size g = 0.867), moderately boost perception and higher-order thinking (g ≈ 0.45), especially when used for 4–8 weeks with structured educational scaffolding.

These mixed results highlight a crucial point: AI tools are not magic. Without guided frameworks—like essay prompts tied to Bloom’s taxonomy—they risk producing “metacognitive laziness,” where thinking is outsourced and learning suffers. Students perform better when AI is used strategically, not as a shortcut.

If schools embrace AI, they must also teach AI literacy, prompt design, and critical evaluation—or risk unlocking its power at the expense of student growth.