A humanoid robot walk past a protest outside an OpenAI developers’ conference in San Francisco, California, 29 September 2026. Photograph: Heather Diehl/Getty Images View image in fullscreen A humanoid robot walk past a protest outside an OpenAI developers’ conference in San Francisco, California, 29 September 2026. Photograph: Heather Diehl/Getty Images Opinion AI (artificial intelligence) Relying on AI is rotting your brain. But here’s what you can do about it Carly Dober Each new tech product is designed to make our lives easier and keep us mindlessly entertained. Switch off: embrace discomfort – and boredom
E ver longed for your own personal assistant? In the ever quickening tech race, Meta has recently launched Muse, a new AI personal agent . Unlike traditional chatbots, this little AI tool will be able to fill out forms for you, organise calendars, pay bills and make reservations. Meta describes Muse as a personal agent “ built for everyone ”. The launch comes at a time when AI agents have been making headlines for hacking into government websites , public agencies and businesses. However, my immediate concern is a little closer to home.
I work as a psychologist, and I’m often talking to clients about lifestyle habits that lead to short-term gain but incur long-term pain. Our brains have a beautiful way of preferring the path of least resistance, of doing what is easiest to preserve our resources. And with the demands of modern life feeling so overwhelming for so many people, the urge to scroll after a long week or defer to a chatbot because you are exhausted is incredibly seducing.
Tech bros pushing their products on to us is nothing new (we all remember the metaverse , right?), but the message is now seemingly at fever pitch for mass AI adoption and how integral it is for human development. It is helpful to remind ourselves what we are being asked to give up, to whom and why, and to consider the potential risks before we hand over our precious data.
Some technology, such as large language models (LLMs) and social media that has an infinite scroll algorithm, seem to have a dose effect: too much reliance on this technology can lead to particular cognitive biases being activated, brain chemistry being depleted , moods and mental health being affected , and even neurological skills being atrophied, to name but a few of the documented risks.
Overusing artificial intelligence affects the brain and learning by bypassing the mental effort required to build deep neural connections, a process known as cognitive offloading. Frequent AI use fosters a passive acceptance of information, reducing the internal friction and inquiry that drive genuine curiosity and problem-solving. The brain depends on mental struggle and overcoming failure to rewire and strengthen our neural pathways. Bypassing that friction reduces our overall cognitive reserve over time.
Our tendency to favour or give greater credence to information supplied by technology (such as ChatGPT or Claude), and to ignore a manual source of information that provides contradictory information (a textbook, for example) even if it is correct, illustrates the phenomenon of automation bias. Automation complacency is closely linked – an overlapping concept that refers to the monitoring of technology with less frequency or vigilance because of a lower suspicion of error and a stronger belief in its accuracy, even when we know that LLMs often generate inaccurate answers.
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