AI Encourages Cognitive Atrophy in Students

When students increasingly outsource thinking to powerful AI, short‑term performance can improve while long‑term unaided ability declines; early studies (an eight‑week trial with 180 undergraduates) show stronger assisted essays but worse unassisted writing afterwards. If adopted broadly and unmitigated, educational institutions risk graduating learners who can operate AI tools but lack the habits of thought needed for independent judgment. — If true, this shifts the education policy debate from access and efficiency to preserving cognitive skills and governance capacity — affecting curricula, assessment, and regulation of AI in schools.