A new study conducted by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the University of Oxford; and Carnegie Mellon University suggests that even brief exposure to using AI tools may lead to reduced independent problem-solving performance and persistence.
The study involved 1,222 participants in three randomized controlled experiments who worked on math and reading comprehension tasks. Some were given access to a chatbot built on GPT-5 while others received no AI help.
Initially, the group using AI outperformed the control group; they answered more questions correctly and completed tasks faster. However, after just 10-15 minutes, the researchers denied them access to the AI.
Once they no longer had access to the chatbot, those who’d previously used it showed lower performance. In the math task, the AI-assisted group solved only 57% of problems, compared with 73% in the group who’d never had AI access. In the reading comprehension task, scores were 76% for the AI group compared to 89% for the control group.
The AI-assisted participants also skipped more questions on the assessments and showed a greater tendency to give up when they encountered difficult problems.
The researchers said the most striking finding wasn’t just the decline in performance in the AI group, but the drop in persistence. They warned that while AI delivers instant answers and saves time in the short run, it may also reduce the need to engage in deeper cognitive effort.
Skills such as independent reasoning, persistence through complex problems, and confidence built from working through challenges all appear to erode with repeated reliance on AI assistance. By the time this erosion becomes noticeable, the loss of proficiency may already be difficult to reverse, the researchers warn.
Rachit Dubey, a co-author from UCLA, warned that rapid AI deployment in education could produce “a generation of learners who will not know what they’re capable of,” which could dilute human innovation and creativity on a large scale.
The researchers urge AI developers to move away from systems that simply deliver instant, complete answers and replace them with tools that guide users through challenges.
“This requires rethinking how AI systems are built to collaborate with humans, and just as the best human collaborators know when not to help, so too should AI,” they conclude.
Source:
SOFX Staff Writer. (May 7, 2026). Study Links Just 10 Minutes of AI Use to Reduced Independent Thinking and Persistence. SOFX.com. Retrieved from https://www.sofx.com/study-links-just-10-minutes-of-ai-use-to-reduced-independent-thinking-and-persistence/.
