AI can free you of a ‘mental workout’, but is that a good thing? A cognitive psychologist explains

AI can free you of a ‘mental workout’, but is that a good thing? A cognitive psychologist explains

When OpenAI released “study mode” in July 2025, the company touted ChatGPT’s educational benefits. “When ChatGPT is prompted to teach or tutor, it can significantly improve academic performance,” the company’s vice president of education told reporters at the product’s launch. But any dedicated teacher would be right to wonder: Is this just marketing, or does scholarly research really support such claims? While generative AI tools are moving int…