10 minutes is all it takes for AI assistance to erode your motivation, study shows
In a set of problem-solving experiments, researchers found that people who used AI to get answers were more likely to give up and fail when that help was removed, compared with people who did not use AI.
A recent study warns that relying on AI assistance for simple tasks can erode motivation and motivation to persist in the same challenge, even without AI. Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University evaluated the effects of cognitive offloading on arithmetic and reading comprehension tasks. The study featured 1,222 participants, randomly assigned to three groups that used AI assistance, had no assistance, or used AI for one task only.
The AI group solved more problems and was less likely to give up when assistance was available compared to the other group. However, when the AI was removed, performance dropped and the AI group skipped or failed more problems. The study also found similar results in reading comprehension tasks, suggesting cognitive offloading harms perseverance and drive in multiple domains.
The researchers argue that AI models should prioritize guiding users to solutions rather than providing direct answers to encourage long-term learning and autonomy.
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