But students who stick with study mode may find they actually understand the material and feel more confident during tests because they have done the mental work to truly learn it.

It's like having someone else do push-ups for you: It might feel easy, but your muscles don't get stronger.

Studies like MIT's Your Brain on ChatGPT suggest that when students rely too heavily on AI for cognitive tasks like writing, their brains become less engaged and they remember less of what they've learned. This finding isn't surprising: Our brains are like a muscle, and when they aren't actively working, they don't get stronger. It takes work, effort, and critical thinking to provide oversight on what an AI creates and offers as a solution.