AI Assistance for Just 10 Minutes Can Erode Motivation, Study Finds
New research shows that briefly relying on AI to solve simple problems makes people less capable and more likely to quit when that help is removed.
People who rely on artificial intelligence (AI) to solve simple problems do worse at, and are more likely to give up on, similar tasks when that assistance is removed, compared with people who do not use AI for quick answers, new research finds.
The study, presented at the 2026 Conference on Language Modeling in San Francisco, investigated the impacts of shifting mental work onto an AI chatbot across arithmetic and reading comprehension tasks. A growing body of research suggests this process of “cognitive offloading” harms long-term learning and critical thinking abilities.