Last year, researchers from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University revealed startling evidence about the impact of using AI on how—and how hard—people think, finding that among more than 300 knowledge workers, leaning too much on AI tools like ChatGPT was associated with diminished critical thinking skills.
The study, mirrored by results from MIT-led research published last year, suggested that even using AI for low-stakes tasks such as proofreading “can lead to significant negative outcomes in high-stakes contexts,” like writing legal documents, the study authors wrote.
For the young generation of digital natives navigating AI anxiety around keeping up with peers using the technology and AI displacing them from jobs, the fear of the technology making people dumber is dominant. But that hasn’t stopped them from using AI—even when they’re explicitly told not to.
A new Wharton-led survey, conducted in partnership with Gallup and the Walton Family Foundation, found young people are ramping up their AI use, even as their concerns about it causing lazy thinking persist. A survey of nearly 2,500 U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 28 completed in October 2025 found 79% of respondents believed AI makes people lazier, and 62% said they had concerns it makes people less smart.
