How using AI for just 10 minutes can backfire on your brain: ‘Heavy cognitive cost’

Nypost · May 28, 2026 · 586 words · By Reda Wigle

Cognitive Decline AI Dependency Educational Technology Impact

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What to know about Cognitive Decline

How using AI for just 10 minutes can backfire on your brain: ‘Heavy cognitive cost’ See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 10

Techniques found 3

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center67%

Right33%

3 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

How using AI for just 10 minutes can backfire on your brain: ‘Heavy cognitive cost’ See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on GoogleBionic brain rot?

Common ground

New research suggests that AI can compromise cognitive function and problem-solving abilities in as little as ten minutes.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Appeal to Fear, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Cognitive Decline story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Half of the participants were charged with solving the problems without AI, while the other half were given access to an AI assistant for approximately 10 minutes that was then removed for the test’s final three problems?
How does this story connect Cognitive Decline with AI Dependency over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/health/how-using-ai-for-just-10-minutes-can-backfi…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

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Loaded Language 95% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Appeal to Fear 85% confidence

Building support by instilling anxiety or panic in the audience.

Why it matters: Recognizing appeal to fear helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Exaggeration / Hyperbole 80% confidence

Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

Why it matters: Recognizing exaggeration / hyperbole helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 10 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 4

check_circle Corroborated 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified 1

verified

Claim 1: “Half of the participants were charged with solving the problems without AI, while the other half were given access to an AI assistant for approximately 10 minutes that was then removed for the test’s final three problems.”

VERIFIED

The specific methodology—splitting participants into a non-AI group and an AI group (10 minutes) before removing the AI for the final three problems—is explicitly detailed in the web search evidence.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Artificial intelligence visual art, or AI art, is visual artwork generated or enhanced through the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) programs, most commonly using text-to-image models. Th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI_art

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ai Yazawa (矢沢あい, Yazawa Ai; born March 7, 1967) is a Japanese manga artist and illustrator. Yazawa debuted as a manga artist with her short story Ano Natsu (1985). She gained mainstream popularity in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Yazawa

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Anthropic PBC is an American artificial intelligence (AI) company headquartered in San Francisco, California. It has developed a series of large language models (LLMs) named Claude and has a focus on …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropic

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 2: “A survey last year revealed that 56% of US adults use AI tools, with 28% using them at least once a week.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to verify the specific survey percentages (56% and 28%) for US adult AI usage.

help

Claim 3: “Previous research has suggested that AI could contribute to a “dementia crisis” because it weakens the brain systems responsible for curiosity, attention, high-order reasoning, and executive function”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding a 'dementia crisis' linked to AI weakening brain systems.

info

Claim 4: “Researchers used a similar format to test reading comprehension and found parallel results, although AI assistance did not translate into stronger performance in the initial portion of the test.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The evidence mentions 'arithmetic and reading comprehension' experiments, but the specific detail about parallel results and lack of initial performance improvement is not explicitly detailed in the snippets.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — A2 reading practice for English learners. All texts include comprehension questions, audio, and a free PDF. Ideal for pre-intermediate learners.
https://www.englishalex.com/post/a2-reading-english-practice…

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web search NEUTRAL — Reading / A1 Reading Tests. Four people representing different professions and hobbies for an A1 English reading test: a female teacher, a male doctor, a male student, and a male chef. Guess who?
https://test-english.com/reading/a1/

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web search NEUTRAL — Our advanced AI math technology has served over 2M unique students from 150+ countries. Gain confidence in your math-solving skills through on-demand step-by-step solutions, video explanations, and gr…
https://math-gpt.org/

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Claim 5: “Conducted by a team of researchers from powerhouse universities — Carnegie Mellon, Oxford, MIT and UCLA — the study evaluated the effects of AI on participants using a fraction-based math test.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results confirm the study was conducted by researchers from Carnegie Mellon, Oxford, MIT, and UCLA and involved a fraction-based math test.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Leslie Fox Prize for Numerical Analysis of the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications (IMA) is a biennial prize established in 1985 by the IMA in honour of mathematician Leslie Fox (1918-19…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Fox_Prize_for_Numerical…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This page lists notable alumni and students of the University of California, Berkeley. Alumni who also served as faculty are listed in bold font, with degree and year. Notable faculty members are in t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_University_of_Californ…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of universities in the United States classified among research universities in the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. This defines research institutions as tho…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_research_universities_…

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 6: “the remaining members of that group who used AI for less direct support, such as hints or clarification, did not experience the same decline in solution rate.”

CORROBORATED

Evidence indicates that participants who used AI for direct answers had a larger decrease in solve rate compared to those who used it for hints or as a discussion partner.

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web search NEUTRAL — Apr 7, 2026 · Participants who used the AI to get answers had a larger decrease in test solve rate from their pretest solve rate (mean − 0.10 -0.10 , s.d. ...
https://arxiv.org/html/2604.04721v2

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web search NEUTRAL — Mar 10, 2025 · Instead of using AI to provide direct answers, educators can encourage students to use AI as a discussion partner. For example, students can use ...
https://www.nsta.org/blog/think-or-not-think-impact-ai-criti…

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web search NEUTRAL — Jul 22, 2025 · Hint not solution: Participants wanted hints that did not provide the exact solution, but rather a pointer or suggestion or thought ...
https://dl.acm.org/doi/full/10.1145/3737885

info

Claim 7: “the solution rate in group that had previously used AI was 20% lower.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the general study is mentioned in multiple sources, the specific '20% lower' statistic is not explicitly present in the provided evidence snippets, though the general trend of decreased performance is noted.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — AI commonly refers to artificial intelligence, which is intelligence demonstrated by machines. Ai, ai, a.i, A.I or AI may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Martina Eileen "Ai-Ai" Hernandez delas Alas (born November 11, 1964) is a Filipino actress and comedian. Referred to as the "Queen of Comedy" for her comedic talent, she is best known for her role as …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai-Ai_delas_Alas

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Basic Technology Research Co., Ltd., doing business as DeepSeek, is a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company that develops large language models (LLMs).…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DeepSeek

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 8: “New research suggests that AI can compromise cognitive function and problem-solving abilities in as little as ten minutes.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results from May and June 2026 explicitly state that new research shows AI can compromise cognitive function and problem-solving abilities in as little as ten minutes.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 31, 2026 ... A study conducted by scientists from Carnegie Mellon, Oxford, MIT and UCLA found the technology can affect cognitive function and problem- ...
https://www.newsnationnow.com/business/tech/ai/artificial-in…

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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 1, 2026 ... T HEALTH Study: Just 10 minutes of AI use impairs your ability to problem-solve without it “People do not merely become worse at tasks, but they ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DZDP7lrn4pe/

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web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2026 ... New research suggests that AI can compromise cognitive function and problem-solving abilities in as little as ten minutes. While the long ...
https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/health/how-using-ai-for-just-1…

info

Claim 9: “When AI was removed from the assisted group, participants were twice as likely to skip questions as those without access to AI.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific claim that participants were 'twice as likely to skip questions' is not explicitly found in the provided evidence snippets, although the study's existence and negative impact on persistence are corroborated.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In the context of generative artificial intelligence, AI agents (also referred to as compound AI systems or agentic AI) are a class of intelligent agents that can pursue goals, use tools, and take act…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AI_agent

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ai Weiwei ( EYE way-WAY; Chinese: 艾未未; pinyin: Ài Wèiwèi, IPA: [âɪ wêɪ.wêɪ]; born 28 August 1957) is a Chinese contemporary artist, documentarian and activist. Ai grew up in the far northwest of Chin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ai_Weiwei

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+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 10: “Sixty-one percent of AI-assisted participants reported asking AI directly for solutions to the problems.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific figure of 61% is not mentioned in the provided evidence snippets; the search results for '61' returned irrelevant memes and movies.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Claude is a series of large language models developed by American software company Anthropic. Claude was released as an AI-based chatbot in March 2023. It is also used in AI-assisted software developm…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_(language_model)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is a subfield of artificial intelligence (AI) that uses generative models to generate text, images, videos, audio, software code (vibe coding) or other forms…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generative_AI

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gemini (also known as Google Gemini and formerly known as Bard) is a generative artificial intelligence chatbot and virtual assistant developed by Google. It is powered by the family of large language…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Gemini

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.