Researchers studied how using a writing assistant affects the brain by splitting people into three groups: one using a creative technology tool, one using a search engine, and one using only their own brain to write essays. By measuring brain activity, they found that the "Brain-only" group showed the strongest and most widespread brain connectivity, while the group using the creative technology showed the weakest. This suggests the brain works less hard when it can "offload" the effort to the tool. This had consequences: the group using the technology was significantly worse at remembering and quoting sentences from the essays they had just written. When people who had used the tool for three sessions were asked to write without it, their brain activity was weaker than those who had been writing without assistance all along. The researchers call this a "cognitive debt," where relying on the tool reduces the mental effort needed for deep learning and thinking.
MIT: The Cognitive Cost of Writing Assistants
Using a writing assistant makes your brain work less, which can hurt your memory and learning.