Paper Type

ERF

Abstract

As artificial intelligence systems proliferate across professional and everyday contexts, humans increasingly delegate cognitive tasks they once performed internally. This conceptual paper examines how deep reliance on AI reshapes human cognition over time, synthesizing evidence across cognitive science, neuropsychology, human-computer interaction, and organizational behavior. Drawing on seminal work on media multitasking and technology-driven cognitive disruption, it develops a conceptual framework linking cognitive offloading mechanisms to specify atrophy pathways across memory, executive function, metacognition, and creativity. The paper articulates four research propositions and a preliminary conceptual model of AI-induced cognitive atrophy, arguing that AI must be designed to augment, rather than erode, human cognitive capability.

Paper Number

1974

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Aug 15th, 12:00 AM

When Humans Stop Thinking: Cognitive Offloading, Atrophy Risk, and the Design of Human-AI Intelligence

As artificial intelligence systems proliferate across professional and everyday contexts, humans increasingly delegate cognitive tasks they once performed internally. This conceptual paper examines how deep reliance on AI reshapes human cognition over time, synthesizing evidence across cognitive science, neuropsychology, human-computer interaction, and organizational behavior. Drawing on seminal work on media multitasking and technology-driven cognitive disruption, it develops a conceptual framework linking cognitive offloading mechanisms to specify atrophy pathways across memory, executive function, metacognition, and creativity. The paper articulates four research propositions and a preliminary conceptual model of AI-induced cognitive atrophy, arguing that AI must be designed to augment, rather than erode, human cognitive capability.