Does the Internet And AI Really Harm Memory? Scientists Weigh In

A recent report by Nature explores the impact of digital technology and AI on human memory, challenging fears that the internet is eroding cognitive abilities.

While search engines, GPS, and AI-driven tools shape how people learn and remember, researchers argue that sweeping claims about memory decline are overstated.

Nature reports how psychologist Adrian Ward from the University of Texas at Austin experienced firsthand how dependent he had become on digital navigation. After a malfunction left him without Apple Maps, he found himself lost in familiar parts of Austin. “I just instinctively put on the map and do what it says,” he said.

This reliance on technology has led to concerns about ‘digital amnesia,’ a term coined by a software firm to describe forgetting information because it is stored on a device. Oxford University even named ‘brain rot’—a term for mental decline due to consuming trivial online content—as its word of the year in 2024.

However, studies paint a nuanced picture. Some research suggests technology alters memory tasks: for instance, GPS users recall routes less effectively. Nature reports that Ward’s own study found that Googling information inflates people’s sense of knowledge.

But memory expert Elizabeth Marsh of Duke University refutes extreme claims, calling them “overstatements,” as reported by Nature.

With AI now integrated into search engines, its impact on memory could be profound. Marsh notes, “This whole ChatGPT thing is another level of technology that’s really different from just typing into a Google browser, ‘What’s the capital of Madagascar?’,” as reported by Nature.

Concerns include AI fostering cognitive laziness or even implanting false memories. Digital avatars of deceased individuals—so-called ‘deadbots’—could also reshape personal recollections. “It’s kind of reassembling a past that we never experienced,” says Andrew Hoskins from the University of Edinburgh, as reported by Nature.

The idea that the internet weakens memory gained traction after a 2011 study by Columbia University psychologist Betsy Sparrow. Participants in her experiments were more likely to remember where they stored facts online than the facts themselves, a phenomenon dubbed the ‘Google effect,’ as reported by Nature.

Yet, later replication attempts produced mixed results, prompting debate over the study’s conclusions.

Ward sees this as part of ‘cognitive offloading,’ in which people delegate memory tasks to external aids. This can be beneficial, freeing up cognitive resources. However, AI-generated summaries in search results might cause users to confuse online knowledge with their own, creating misplaced confidence, says Nature.

While studies confirm that technology affects memory for specific tasks, Harvard’s Daniel Schacter asserts, “There is very little evidence that these technologies are causing a broader decline in memory,” as reported by Nature.

Instead, researchers suggest that growing information overload—and natural aging—might be contributing to memory concerns more than the internet itself.