Is ChatGPT Slowly Killing Students’ Intelligence?

Today, many students don’t think first anymore.
They ask ChatGPT.

Homework, essays, summaries, even ideas — one prompt, one click, and the answer appears. At first, it feels like a miracle. Faster work, better grades, less stress. But after some time, a disturbing question starts to appear:

Are we becoming smarter thanks to AI… or slowly losing our ability to think?

As a student, and especially as someone studying artificial intelligence, this question scares me more than AI itself.

When AI Became a Reflex

A few years ago, when we didn’t understand something, we searched, struggled, failed, tried again. Today, the reflex is different. We open ChatGPT and ask for the answer immediately.

The problem is not using AI.
The problem is using it without thinking.

Many students now:

• Copy answers without understanding them
• Submit work they couldn’t explain orally
• Depend on AI even for simple tasks

Little by little, effort disappears. And with it, real learning.

Education or Automation?

In theory, AI should help students learn better. In reality, many use it to avoid learning.

This creates a dangerous situation:

• Students pass exams without skills
• Degrees lose real value
• Confidence is fake

One day, when AI is not allowed — during an interview, a real job, or a real problem — the student is alone. And that’s when the truth appears.

The Illusion of Intelligence

AI gives the illusion of being intelligent.

When a student submits a perfect answer generated by AI, it looks impressive. But intelligence is not about having good answers — it’s about knowing how to find them, how to question them, and how to connect ideas.

If AI does all the thinking:

• The brain stops training
• Memory becomes weaker
• Critical thinking fades

Just like muscles, the brain needs effort to grow. Without effort, it becomes lazy.

Education or Automation?

In theory, AI should help students learn better. In reality, many use it to avoid learning.

This creates a dangerous situation:

• Students pass exams without skills
• Degrees lose real value
• Confidence is fake

One day, when AI is not allowed — during an interview, a real job, or a real problem — the student is alone. And that’s when the truth appears.

But Let’s Be Honest: AI Is Not the Enemy

Blaming ChatGPT is too easy.

AI is a tool. A powerful one. Just like a calculator, the internet, or books. The danger is how we use it.

Used correctly, AI can:

• Explain difficult concepts
• Help students revise
• Show different ways to solve a problem
• Save time for deeper thinking

The difference is simple:
Do you use AI to replace your brain, or to improve it?

The Responsibility of Students (and Schools)

Students must learn one important rule:

If you can’t explain the answer without AI, you didn’t learn it.

Schools and teachers also have a responsibility. Instead of banning AI completely, they should:

• Teach how to use it ethically
• Focus on reasoning, not just results
• Ask questions that require personal thinking

AI is not going away. Pretending it doesn’t exist is useless.

A Personal Thought

As an AI student, I see the future clearly:
Those who understand AI will succeed.
Those who depend on it will struggle.

ChatGPT is impressive. But it should never replace curiosity, effort, and thinking. Otherwise, we are not creating intelligent students — we are creating operators of intelligence they don’t own.

And that is far more dangerous than AI itself.