GPS ruined our sense of direction.
GPS毁掉了我们的方向感。
Search engines weaken our memory.
搜索引擎削弱了我们的记忆力。
AI, scientists warn, could do the same to everything from creativity to critical thinking.
科学家警告说，人工智能可能会对从创造力到批判性思维等方方面面产生同样的影响。
Years ago, I forced myself to start using AI as often as possible.
多年前，我强迫自己开始尽可能频繁地使用人工智能。
If I was going to be writing about it, I also had to use the technology.
如果我要写关于它的文章，我也必须使用这项技术。
But an emerging crop of studies over the last year or so have me worried – am I harming my brain in the process?
但过去一年左右出现的一批新研究让我担心：我是不是在这个过程中伤害了自己的大脑？
These studies suggest people who lean too much on tools like ChatGPT could have problems with creativity, attention span, critical thinking, memory and more.
这些研究表明，过度依赖ChatGPT等工具的人，可能在创造力、注意力时长、批判性思维、记忆力等方面出现问题。
Others raise concerns that AI users could be surrendering the cognitive friction that makes thinking sharp, and that as a society we may have fewer original ideas.
另一些研究则担心，人工智能用户可能正在放弃让思维保持敏锐的认知摩擦，而作为一个社会，我们可能会拥有更少原创想法。
But the science on this is brand new, and we don't have the answers.
但关于这一点的科学研究才刚刚起步，我们还没有答案。
So should we be worried?
那么，我们应该担心吗？
"On a high level, yes," says Adam Green, a professor of neuroscience and director of the Laboratory for Relational Cognition at Georgetown University in the US.
“从宏观层面看，是的，”美国乔治城大学神经科学教授、关系认知实验室主任亚当·格林说。
There's a lot of nuance here, but AI will do work that used to require mental labour.
这里有很多细微差别，但人工智能会完成过去需要脑力劳动的工作。
"There's plenty of evidence that if you are not doing as much of the actual thinking, then your capability to do that kind of thinking is going to atrophy."
“有大量证据表明，如果你不再进行那么多真正的思考，那么你进行那类思考的能力就会萎缩。”
Even if you don't seek to use ChatGPT or Claude, there are AI responses at the top of Google and tech giants are rushing to shove more of it onto our phones.
即便你并不主动使用ChatGPT或Claude，谷歌搜索结果顶部也会出现人工智能回答，科技巨头也正急于把更多人工智能塞进我们的手机里。
The technology is getting hard to avoid, but there are steps you can take to avoid the biggest potential risks.
这项技术正变得难以避开，但你可以采取一些措施，规避最大的潜在风险。
This isn't all or nothing though, according to Jared Benge, a professor and clinical neuropsychologist at Dell Medical School at the University of Texas at Austin.
不过，得克萨斯大学奥斯汀分校戴尔医学院教授、临床神经心理学家贾里德·本奇表示，这并不是非黑即白的问题。
Using AI doesn't automatically mean it's going to be bad for you.
使用人工智能并不自动意味着它会对你有害。
For example, if AI frees up your brain space for other more important things, that might be great for your cognition.
例如，如果人工智能为你的大脑腾出空间去处理其他更重要的事情，那也许对你的认知是件好事。
"Why do we think AI is going to be that different from other things that our brain has already adapted to?"
“为什么我们会认为人工智能会与我们大脑已经适应过的其他事物有那么大的不同？”
Benge says.
本奇说。
"It's not inherent to the tool to be good or bad."
“工具本身并不天然是好是坏。”
As with any other technology, how we use AI will determine whether it helps us or harms us.
和任何其他技术一样，我们如何使用人工智能，将决定它是帮助我们还是伤害我们。
But the concerns are serious enough that you might want to rethink how you use these tools – before it's too late.
但这些担忧足够严肃，你或许应该重新思考自己使用这些工具的方式，趁一切还不算太晚。
With this in mind, I spoke with some leading experts in this field to find out how they think we should use AI to ensure it doesn't dull our minds.
考虑到这一点，我采访了该领域的一些顶尖专家，想了解他们认为我们应如何使用人工智能，以确保它不会让我们的头脑变迟钝。
Twenty years ago, an idea cropped up that overreliance on technology might cause some kind of " digital dementia " resulting in the deterioration of short-term memory and other cognitive processes.
20年前，曾出现一种观点，认为过度依赖技术可能会导致某种“数字痴呆”，造成短期记忆和其他认知过程退化。
Benge recently co-authored a meta-analysis that looked at 57 studies covering more than 411,000 adults.
本奇最近合著了一项荟萃分析，研究了57项研究，涵盖超过411000名成年人。
All told, he and his co-author found no evidence for digital dementia.
总的来说，他和合著者没有发现支持数字痴呆的证据。
Technology use actually seemed to reduce the risk of cognitive impairment.
技术使用实际上似乎降低了认知障碍的风险。
But that doesn't mean there's nothing to fear.
但这并不意味着没有什么可怕的。
Studies have found that people who rely on satellite navigation like GPS stop building mental maps of their surroundings and their spatial memory continues to decline over time.
研究发现，依赖GPS等卫星导航的人会停止构建周围环境的心理地图，他们的空间记忆会随着时间推移持续下降。
A similar phenomenon called the " Google Effect " emerged when search engines took over.
当搜索引擎接管信息查找后，一种被称为“谷歌效应”的类似现象出现了。
Apparently, we're less likely to remember information that we find using a search engine because it takes so little effort.
显然，我们不太可能记住通过搜索引擎找到的信息，因为获取这些信息太不费力了。
It seems the brain gets worse at tasks when we outsource them.
看来，当我们把任务外包出去时，大脑完成这些任务的能力就会变差。
And AI is the most powerful outsourcing tool of all time.
而人工智能是有史以来最强大的外包工具。
"What's happening with AI is that it's giving us, for the first time, an easy way to trade process for product," Green says.
格林说：“人工智能正在发生的变化是，它第一次为我们提供了一种简单的方法，可以用过程换取成果。”
The essay can sound better.
文章可以听起来更出色。
The presentation can look sharper.
演示文稿可以看起来更精致。
The retirement party joke can land perfectly.
退休派对上的笑话可以讲得恰到好处。
But the mental work, the struggle, the false starts and that moment when something finally clicks is exactly what your brain needs.
但那些脑力劳动、挣扎、一次次失败的开端，以及某个东西终于豁然开朗的时刻，正是你的大脑所需要的。
"It's like you're at the gym and a robot lifts the barbell for you," he says.
他说：“这就像你在健身房里，却有个机器人替你举杠铃。”
"You get nothing."
“你什么也得不到。”
So how can you use AI and still give your brain a work out?
那么，你如何既使用人工智能，又让大脑得到锻炼呢？
One recent study found heavier users of AI scored significantly worse on a standard critical thinking test, apparently because they're used to offloading their thought processes to robots.
最近一项研究发现，人工智能的重度使用者在标准批判性思维测试中的得分明显更差，显然是因为他们习惯于把自己的思考过程外包给机器人。
People even trust AI over their own thinking and intuition – even when the AI is wrong – something researchers at the University of Pennsylvania in the US call "cognitive surrender".
人们甚至会相信人工智能，而不是自己的思考和直觉，即使人工智能是错的也是如此；美国宾夕法尼亚大学的研究人员称这种现象为“认知投降”。
The problem gets worse the less you know.
你知道得越少，问题就越严重。
A study by Microsoft Research found you're most at risk when you're less familiar with as subject.
微软研究院的一项研究发现，当你对某个主题不太熟悉时，你面临的风险最大。
"If the user doesn't have the expertise to judge whether the output is great or not," says Hank Lee, a PhD candidate at Carnegie Mellon University who co-authored the study.
“如果用户没有专业知识来判断输出结果是否出色，”这项研究的合著者、卡内基梅隆大学博士候选人汉克·李说。
"That's the danger."
“这就是危险所在。”
The fix starts before you open the app.
解决办法在你打开应用之前就开始了。
If you wouldn't trust a random stranger's answer to a question, you shouldn't trust AI either, says Lee.
李说，如果你不会相信一个陌生人随口给出的答案，那你也不应该相信人工智能。
Those are exactly the topics where you need to bring your own judgment first.
这些恰恰是你需要先拿出自己判断的主题。
Try forming a rough view on the subject and using AI to challenge your perspective before you get the robot's opinion.
试着先对这个主题形成一个粗略看法，并在获得机器人的意见之前，用人工智能来挑战你的观点。
That way AI is pressure-testing your thinking, rather than replacing it.
这样一来，人工智能是在压力测试你的思考，而不是取代它。
"If you look at something, it is in front of you and your vision sees it, you often think it's in long-term memory when it is not," says Barbara Oakley, an emeritus professor of engineering at the University of Oakland in the US who studies how the brain learns.
美国奥克兰大学工程学荣休教授芭芭拉·奥克利研究大脑如何学习，她说：“如果你看着某样东西，它就在你面前，你的视觉看见了它，你往往会以为它已经进入了长期记忆，其实并没有。”
There is some early research to suggest that AI can mess with your ability to retain information.
一些早期研究表明，人工智能可能会扰乱你保留信息的能力。
A survey of 494 students also found who used ChatGPT more often were more likely to report memory loss.
一项针对494名学生的调查还发现，越常使用 ChatGPT 的人，越可能报告出现记忆力下降。
Self-reported assessments aren't hard science, but other research, such as an unpublished 2024 study, reveals that priming your brain with some light problem solving before using an AI chatbot can improve what you learn from the AI.
自我报告式评估算不上严格科学，但其他研究，比如一项未发表的2024年研究显示，在使用人工智能聊天机器人之前，先用一些轻度解题活动给大脑预热，可以提高你从人工智能那里学到的东西。
When you're asking AI for your information you need to remember, it's also worth slowing down to engage with it.
当你向人工智能询问需要记住的信息时，也值得放慢速度，主动参与其中。
Take notes – ideally by hand, but typing them out works too.
做笔记，最好是手写，但打字记录也可以。
You can even ask the AI to quiz you, or to come up with flashcards.
你甚至可以让人工智能考考你，或者制作抽认卡。
The work makes it stick.
付出的努力会让知识真正留下来。
It sounds fussy, but friction is the point.
这听起来有些繁琐，但阻力本身就是关键。
AI is remarkably good at coming up with ideas.
人工智能非常擅长想出点子。
That's the problem.
这正是问题所在。
Research suggests that people who use AI for creative tasks produce ideas that are more predictable and less original than people who don't.
研究表明，使用人工智能完成创造性任务的人，产出的想法比不使用人工智能的人更可预测，也更缺乏原创性。
This could be weakening your ability to be creative.
这可能正在削弱你的创造力。
Your brain builds creative capacity by making unexpected connections, Green says.
格林说，你的大脑通过建立意想不到的联系来培养创造能力。
Hand that job to AI, and you skip the workout.
把这项工作交给人工智能，你就跳过了这次锻炼。
"We're worried about losing your creative muscle," says Green.
格林说：“我们担心的是你会失去创造力这块肌肉。”
"AI is tricking us in a number of ways to make us think that it is actually making us more creative."
“人工智能正以多种方式欺骗我们，让我们以为它实际上是在让我们更有创造力。”
One approach to overcome this is to put your own ideas down on paper first, even if they're rough.
克服这一点的一种方法，是先把自己的想法写在纸上，哪怕它们还很粗糙。
Spend more time with a blank page and write whatever comes.
多花些时间面对空白页，想到什么就写什么。
The quality doesn't matter.
质量并不重要。
What matters is that your brain is making the connections, and reaching across your own experiences, memories and knowledge to produce something only you could have come up with.
重要的是，你的大脑在建立联系，并调动你自己的经历、记忆和知识，产出只有你才能想到的东西。
That's the workout.
这才是锻炼。
Then use AI to develop, poke holes in or refine what you've got.
然后再用人工智能来发展、挑刺或完善你已经有的想法。
You've made it this far into the article.
你已经把这篇文章读到这里了。
Well done.
干得不错。
But if your attention is starting to wander, you're not alone.
但如果你的注意力开始分散，你并不孤单。
It could be that my writing is boring you.
也许是我的文字让你觉得无聊。
Some research, however, also suggests the onslaught of technology is making it harder for us to focus.
不过，也有一些研究表明，技术的不断冲击正在让我们更难集中注意力。
AI could compound the problem: answers are at your fingertips and with plenty of opportunities to skip difficulty and discomfort.
人工智能可能会加剧这个问题：答案触手可及，而且有大量机会可以绕开困难和不适。
But you can apply a similar logic to the other tips here: do things the slow way on purpose.
但你可以把类似的逻辑应用到这里的其他建议上：有意用慢办法做事。
Don't make ChatGPT summarise that long article.
不要让 ChatGPT 总结那篇长文章。
Sit with a hard problem before you ask a robot.
在向机器人求助之前，先自己琢磨一下难题。
Let yourself get bored.
让自己感到无聊。
Unpleasant is the goal.
不舒服正是目标。
That's your brain learning to tolerate, and eventually enjoy, the friction that deeper thinking requires.
那是你的大脑在学习忍受，并最终享受深度思考所需要的那种摩擦感。
I'm not here to tell you to stop using AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini.
我不是来劝你停止使用 ChatGPT、Claude 或 Gemini 这样的 AI 聊天机器人的。
But I'm forcing myself to be more thoughtful when I reach for them to try and keep my brain in the driver's seat.
但当我想使用它们时，我正逼着自己更审慎一些，努力让自己的大脑始终掌握主动权。
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And that could leave me – and you – in a better position in the future.
而这可能会让我，也让你，在未来处于更有利的位置。
Green says human brains are structurally different from AI in ways that really matter: we make connections that are personal, unexpected and genuinely novel in ways that digital probability machines simply can't replicate.
格林说，人类大脑在结构上与 AI 存在一些真正重要的差异：我们会建立个人化、出人意料且真正新颖的联系，而这是数字概率机器根本无法复制的。
"The distinctness and diversity of human ideas is going to be the great value add in the coming years," he says.
他说：“人类想法的独特性和多样性，将成为未来几年巨大的增值所在。”
Green predicts that forcing ourselves to "think outside the bots" will become a natural survival impulse to make it in society.
格林预测，强迫自己“跳出机器人思维”将成为一种自然的生存本能，帮助人们在社会中立足。
And, as Benge points out, we've been down this road before.
而且，正如本奇指出的那样，我们以前也走过这条路。
"Our brains have always adapted to technology.
“我们的大脑一直都在适应技术。
We adapt all the time.
我们一直在适应。
It is our strength as a species," he says.
这是我们这个物种的优势，”他说。
"Have we lost the ability to run marathons because we have cars?
“难道因为有了汽车，我们就失去了跑马拉松的能力吗？
No.
不。
It becomes something that humans do because we want to do it."
它变成了人类因为想做而去做的事情。”
The tools change.
工具会改变。
But apparently, the desire to think, create and figure things out for ourselves is harder to automate.
但显然，想要自己思考、创造和弄清楚事情的愿望，更难被自动化取代。
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