By Victoria Szymkiewicz^1,4, Edgar Carvalho^2,4, Ezra Ford^3,4

¹Duke University

²Northwestern University

³Pomona College

⁴Danish Institute of Study Abroad, Copenhagen

doi.org/10.55894/dv3.13

Synopsis

As artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT become increasingly prevalent in educational settings, it is crucial to understand how their usage influences students’ cognitive processes. Szymkiewicz et al. investigate the relationship between the frequency of ChatGPT usage and cognitive flexibility among university students. They find that frequent users (those who used ChatGPT for more than 50% of their academic work) exhibit greater cognitive flexibility compared to infrequent users, as evidenced by less of a decrease in response accuracy when switching  between  two  tasks.  While  further  research  is  needed  to  fully  understand  the  implications  of  these results, they may help to destigmatize the use of AI tools in educational contexts.