AI Assistance Negatively Impacts Motivation and Performance

According to new research presented at the 2026 Language Modeling Conference in San Francisco, relying on AI assistance for just 10 minutes to solve simple problems reduces motivation once the support is removed, negatively impacting performance on similar tasks.

It was determined that individuals who rely on AI to solve simple problems perform worse on similar tasks after the support is cut off and are more prone to giving up. This creates a clear difference compared to individuals who do not use AI for quick answers.

The research, presented earlier this month at the conference in San Francisco, examined the effects of offloading mental workload to AI chatbots on arithmetic and reading comprehension tasks. A growing body of research indicates that this process, referred to as "cognitive offloading," harms long-term learning and critical thinking skills.