# MIT professor Eric So warns AI reliance erodes human cognitive skills

Digest AI · Society & Work · published 2026-10-23T18:08:15.159000Z

Canonical: https://digestai.news/story/mit-professor-eric-so-warns-ai-reliance-erodes-human-cognitive-skills

## Summary

MIT behavioral science professor Eric So warns that routine reliance on AI tools is blunting human cognitive abilities. In an interview discussing his book, "The Collision: What AI Does to Us," So describes how outsourcing tasks like drafting emails and structuring research leads to a cycle of cognitive atrophy, where users become uncomfortable executing basic thinking tasks without AI assistance.

So notes that while interface designers could introduce productive friction—such as offering hints rather than direct answers or adding delays between responses—doing so often hurts user engagement ratings because users favor frictionless answers. He reported anecdotes from his research and presentations, including parents concerned about their children losing basic thinking skills and a medical student who defaulted to AI for diagnostic queries.

To prevent the loss of what So calls "signature thinking skills," he recommends that professionals identify their core cognitive competencies—such as diagnostic reasoning for doctors or rhetoric for lawyers—and avoid delegating the preliminary foundational tasks that build those abilities.

## Key points

- MIT professor Eric So published "The Collision: What AI Does to Us" on AI-driven cognitive decline.
- So argues frictionless AI design discourages deep thinking, though adding delays or hints often lowers user satisfaction scores.
- Professionals and students risk eroding their core skills by outsourcing fundamental tasks to chatbots like ChatGPT.

## Why it matters

As generative AI becomes standard in workplaces and education, concerns are shifting from direct labor displacement to the gradual loss of critical thinking and independent problem-solving capabilities.

## Sources

1. [MIT professor says AI is taking over your brain](https://bostonglobe.com/2026/10/23/opinion/ai-impact-cognitive-ability-eric-so) (bostonglobe.com, 2026-10-23)

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## Cite

Digest AI, "MIT professor Eric So warns AI reliance erodes human cognitive skills", 23 October 2026, https://digestai.news/story/mit-professor-eric-so-warns-ai-reliance-erodes-human-cognitive-skills

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