COGNITIVE COLLAPSE ~ The Comfort Crisis of AI

 

Human Thinking is on Pause

I was casually flipping through the pages of the Business Standard newspaper dated 28/06/2025, not really reading—just glancing at the headlines. Nothing had caught my eye yet. Then, on page 17, a title stopped me in my tracks: “Thinking Capped.” Something about it made me pause.

Curious, I started reading the article. Sentence after sentence, it pulled me in. There was something striking, something timely and thought-provoking in its essence. As I read, my intuition nudged me strongly—it whispered, “This is it. This is going to be your first blog post.”

And that’s how this blog was born—rooted in inspiration drawn from that one article in The Business Standard. What follows is my take on it, my thoughts, and reflections sparked by what I read.

And yes, we’re living in a world of AI and rapid technological advancement. We’re growing at every layer of life, and most of our tasks are becoming simplified, efficient, and effective. But here’s where the problem begins.

In the early stages of life, we used to do math calculations in our heads—or for some, even on our fingers. I was one of them. Then came the calculator. Suddenly, calculations became quicker, easier, and more accurate. Boom—what a brilliant invention! But over time, we humans began to decline in our basic math skills.

Next came the mobile phone—more specifically, the smartphone. Before it became common, we had landlines, PCO booths, and those one-rupee coin telephones. I still remember how my mom and I used to call my dad, who was one of the few with a mobile phone back then. We had to remember phone numbers—many of them. But after the rise of mobile phones and smartphones, our memory skills slowly faded. Why bother remembering when everything is saved?

With each step forward in technology, there’s been a silent step backward in human skill—especially the basic ones. Then came Facebook, reminding us of birthdays. A once-thoughtful habit—remembering the special days of our loved ones—began to fade. And that’s just one of many examples.

Among all these shifts, the next—and perhaps the biggest—comfort zone we’ve all stepped into is AI. When AI started making waves around three years ago, I had an alarming thought. Just like how the calculator dulled our math skills, I feared that AI would slowly erode something even more vital: our thinking, communication, decision-making, and most importantly, our cognitive abilities.

And now, as I look around, that fear no longer feels far-fetched.
The alarm that once rang quietly in my mind is now echoing all around us.

We, as humans, are steadily moving down a path I’d call a “comfort crisis”—a path where, the more convenient life becomes, the more we begin to lose the very skills that once made us sharp, thoughtful, and capable.

A recent study conducted by researchers from the MIT Media Lab, Wellesley College, and Mass Art reveals something deeply thought-provoking. Their findings suggest that tools like ChatGPT may negatively affect our neural, linguistic, and cognitive capabilities.

Though the study is still in its early stages—and limited in scope, with only 54 participants aged 18 to 34—the results are hard to ignore. Participants who used ChatGPT to write essays during the experiment showed measurably lower brain activity compared to those who wrote without any AI assistance.

Interestingly, the researchers observed that writing without AI led to increased brain network interactions across multiple frequency bands. It engaged a higher cognitive load, demanded stronger executive control, and sparked deeper creative processing.

And it’s not just limited to writing. Today, we rely on AI for nearly everything—decision-making, designing, art, travel, creativity, learning, searching, planning, and so much more. We’ve embedded AI so deeply into our daily lives that it’s become a part of every action—from what we often call “pin to plane.”

But as we embrace the ease and efficiency it offers, we must also pause to reflect on what we might be losing in return. Here’s a glimpse into the subtle yet significant areas where we, as humans, are getting affected:

1. Decline in Memory Power
2. Reduced Creative Thinking
3. Weakened Decision-Making Skills
4. A General Dumbing Down of the Brain
5. Loss of Reasoning Capabilities
6. Decreased Patience and Long-Term Focus
7. An Increasing Need for Instant Answers and Satisfaction
8. Digital Addiction
9. Poor Impulse Control
10. Emotional Imbalance
11. Rising Social Isolation

These changes might not be immediately visible, but over time, they silently shape our habits, thinking patterns, and even how we connect with ourselves and others.

 Digital addiction, which is classified as the 4Cs

1.      Craving: A constant desire to use digital devices

2.      Compulsion: Feeling unable to resist the urge

3.      Control loss: Failing to limit screen time

4.      Consequences: Real-world problems like poor sleep, falling grades, or strained relationships

 “We now rely on AI for tasks we used to do ourselves—writing essays, solving problems, even generating ideas,” says Nitin, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru. “That means less practice in critical thinking, memory recall, and creative reasoning.”

This dependence, he adds, is also weakening people’s ability to delay gratification.

And honestly, he’s right. On the whole, we humans are training our brains to be lazy—we're slowly slipping into what I’d call the “Idiot Trap.”

Even I’ve been there. In the beginning, I embraced AI and technology without much thought. But later, I realized how badly I had lost touch with my math skills—simply because I had taken the calculator so seriously and used it for everything.

Haha, here’s the fun part—even while I’m typing this, I’m making plenty of spelling mistakes, and they’re all being autocorrected. Somewhere along the way, even my spelling skills have taken a hit!

Now, I’ve come to accept one thing clearly: we can’t avoid AI. It’s here to stay.
But what we can do is set boundaries. We need to develop responsible usage habits, practice self-discipline, and ensure that parents and teachers guide the younger generation with clear rules—not just about using AI ethically, but about using it effectively.

 So, what can we do about it?

We can’t (and shouldn’t) reject technology—but we can build healthier habits around it. Here are a few practical measures we can start with to regain control and strike a better balance:

One Hour a Day Without Smart Devices

Create a sacred window in your day—free from phones, screens, or smart devices. Let your mind wander, reflect, or simply be present.

 No AI While Working or Studying

Try completing tasks—writing, researching, solving problems—without AI assistance. Let your brain stretch and sweat a little.

Educating Ourselves (and Others) About AI Usage

Awareness is key. We must understand both the power and the pitfalls of AI, and share this knowledge with children, students, and peers.

The “Phone Basket” Ritual

Have a dedicated basket or space where everyone in the family or team drops their phones during meals, meetings, or quality time.

Digital Fasting & Grounding

Take short breaks from all digital tools. Go outdoors, reconnect with nature, and ground yourself in the real world.

AI Fasting

Set intentional days or hours when you avoid using AI tools altogether. Rediscover your natural abilities—be it writing, thinking, or imagining.

Mindful Tech Use Practices

Before using any tech, ask: Is this helping me grow or just making things easier? Let intention guide your actions.

Encouraging Offline Hobbies

Read a physical book, sketch, play an instrument, or write in a journal. Build skills that don't rely on a screen.

Parent-Led Boundaries at Home

Parents can create household rules that teach kids the value of balanced tech use—turning limitations into life lessons.

And there’s one thing that’s stuck with me since my school days. I remember watching a program on the Discovery Channel about the evolution of different species on Earth. Among everything they discussed, one particular point has stayed etched in my mind.

They explained how the physical form of a species can change over generations based on the continuous use—or disuse—of a specific body part. Take the giraffe, for instance. In its early evolutionary stages, it had a much shorter neck, almost resembling a goat. But over time, as it repeatedly stretched its neck to reach the leaves on tall trees, the structure of its body changed. These repeated actions led to changes in its DNA over generations—until we got the long-necked giraffe we know today.

Similarly, pigs, which don’t fully stretch or use their legs, evolved to have shorter, stubbier legs over time.

And that’s when it hit me—our future generations will physically and mentally evolve based on what we use, and what we don’t.

That brings me to the core point of this entire article: We must use AI to enhance ourselves—not to make us passive, idle, or intellectually stagnant.

It’s already affecting us—and if we continue to let our brains lie dormant, it will affect our children and their children too. The effects won’t be subtle; they’re happening right in front of our eyes.

Yes, technology is inevitable. But how we introduce it matters—especially when it comes to children. Instead of plunging them into screens at an early age, they need to be thrown into real-world learning. The foundation of a child’s brain is laid early, and if we outsource that foundation-building to technology, we risk long-term damage.

Let’s not raise a generation that forgets how to think, wonder, question, and create—because they were never given the space to try.

 I truly believe that AI is just a tool—a powerful one, yes—but still just a tool. It can assist us, support us, and simplify our tasks, but it cannot replace human creativity or emotional depth.

As most experts rightly point out, AI should be used to reduce repetitive workloads and free up mental space for deeper thinking—not to avoid thinking altogether.

The way forward, they agree, lies in responsible development—creating AI systems that are grounded in ethics, transparency, and human values. Research in AI ethics must be prioritized, not just for the sake of safety, but to preserve what makes us human in the first place.

In the end, it all comes down to us.
It’s in the hands of each individual—whether we choose to use AI to improve our lives or allow it to take over them.

The choice, as always, is ours.