Overview

• A controlled experiment by MIT’s Media Lab monitored EEG readings of 54 participants writing SAT-style essays and found those using ChatGPT exhibited the lowest neural engagement compared with Google search and brain-only groups.
• ChatGPT users underperformed at neural, linguistic and behavioral levels, became increasingly passive across essays and struggled to recall or quote their own work without AI assistance.
• A SheKnows survey shows 84% of teenagers regularly use AI for homework and most view it as acceptable outside proctored exams, with 72% predicting a shift back to in-person tests.
• Educators including Gary Ward are countering AI-based cheating with handwritten assignments, oral examinations and AI-generated prompts designed to resist automation.
• A UCLA graduate’s viral display of ChatGPT at commencement and a presidential executive order mandating AI training in classrooms highlight the tension over responsible AI integration in education.