Study: Social Media 'Junk' Data Causes AI Cognitive Decline

Published 1 day ago

story

Above: The logos for AI models DeepSeek, ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot are displayed on a smartphone screen. Image copyright: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

AI brain rot from social media junk is a permanent cognitive scar that can't be fixed. Models trained on clickbait and viral content lose reasoning abilities and develop psychopathic traits. Even rehabilitation with quality data fails to restore their original thinking capacity.

Nature Forbes

Narrative B

The real problem isn't AI getting dumber from bad data — it's humans becoming cognitively lazy from over-relying on AI tools. Studies show people using ChatGPT have lower brain engagement and weaker memory formation. AI companies already filter training data effectively.

Time Futurism