Is ChatGPT Making Us Dumb or Are the Headlines?

Is ChatGPT Making Us Dumb or Are the Headlines?

From The Cave Project by Jenny and Greg Swan

July 8, 2025 · 48 min

About this episode

Jenny and Greg Swan discuss the implications of a viral MIT study on ChatGPT and its perceived effects on our brains and education.

Did an MIT paper really prove that ChatGPT is scrambling our brains? Or did 54 Boston adults + a flashy press push just scramble the headlines? In this episode, Jenny and Greg Swan tear into the now-viral “Your Brain on ChatGPT” study. Along the way they tackle moral panics, blue-book nostalgia, and why blaming tech is easier than changing how we teach, parent, and work. We unpack: 📰 Headline vs. homework – why you can’t stop at the title 🧠 EEG ≠ ESP – what brain-scan spikes really don’t tell u 📉 Correlation, causation & tiny sample sizes – stats teachers everywhere weep 📚 Blue books are back? – the “pens only” classroom backlash 🛠️ AI as calculator 2.0 – tooling up instead of dumbing down 🚸 Moral panics through history – from radios to Roblox 🏆 How to actually teach (and learn) with ChatGPT – prompts, policies, and personal responsibility This convo will leave you side-eyeing every “AI is ruining humanity” tweet—and maybe crafting a healthier relationship with the robots and your own brain. Follow & Subscribe for More Tech, Culture & Chaos: 📚 ⁠ Subscribe on Substack ⁠ 🎥 ⁠ Watch on YouTube ⁠ 📸 ⁠ Follow on Instagram ⁠ The future isn’t neutral. Let’s figure it…

People in this episode

Hosts: Jenny Swan, Greg Swan

Topics covered

  • ChatGPT
  • education
  • technology
  • moral panic
  • brain studies
  • teaching methods

Keywords

  • ChatGPT
  • brain study
  • education
  • moral panic
  • technology
  • teaching
  • correlation
  • causation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MIT

Books & works: Your Brain on ChatGPT

Places: Boston

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