Students who use AI tools extensively may struggle with knowledge retention, according to new research.
Brazilian social scientist Andre Barcaui looked at two groups of students, one using ChatGPT as a study aid and the other using more traditional methods, before giving them a surprise test after 45 days. He found that those who had depended on AI scored an average of 57.5 percent on a knowledge retention test, compared to an average of 68.5 percent for those who had studied traditionally.
This randomized controlled trial showed that unrestricted use of ChatGPT as a study aid can impair long-term knowledge retention, Barcaui said in the conclusion of his paper, ChatGPT as a cognitive crutch: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial on knowledge retention. “Students who learned without AI retained substantially more information after 45 days than those who used ChatGPT.” He pointed out that an 11 percent performance gap was a significant differential.