Now, imagine writing an essay with the help of AI.

请想象一下用人工智能写一篇文章。

Maybe some of you have even experimented one of these programs like ChatGPT.

或许一些人已经尝试过像ChatGPT这样的AI程序。

You give it an assignment.

你给它一个任务。

You give it a prompt, like write a book report on "To Kill a Mocking Bird".

你给它一个提示词，比如写一篇《杀死一只知更鸟》的读书报告。

And in just mere seconds it types out the report. It's pretty amazing.

然后只需要几秒钟，它就给出了报告，这相当令人惊叹。

And it sounds easy, right?

而且这听起来很简单，对吧？

Well, a new study is raising questions about what that could mean for your brain in the long run.

一项新研究对此提出了疑问：这样做长期来看可能对大脑产生何种影响？

Researchers at MIT studied three groups of students.

麻省理工学院的研究人员对三组学生进行了研究。

One group used ChatGPT to help write their essays.

一组学生使用ChatGPT写文章。

Another used Google search engine to write the essay.

另一组用谷歌搜索引擎写文章。

And a third group relied only on their own brains, no tech tools at all.

第三组完全靠自己的大脑，不使用任何技术工具。

And here's what they found.

以下是研究人员的发现。

Scientists use brain scans called EEGs and they saw big differences.

科学家们使用一种名为“脑电图”的大脑扫描技术，并观察到了显著差异。

In fact, the students who didn't use any tools, they showed strong activity in several areas of the brain, including the prefrontal cortex we just talked about -- that's responsible for focus and complex learning, but also what is known as the occipital parietal region, which is back here.

事实上，没有使用任何工具的学生，他们大脑的多个区域表现出强烈活动，包括我们刚提到的负责专注力与复杂学习的前额叶皮层，还有后面的枕顶叶区域。

That's more linked to visual processing and reasoning.

这个区域与视觉处理和推理更相关。

Now, the Google search group, they showed moderate or intermediate levels of engagement in those same areas.

使用谷歌搜索的小组，他们的这些大脑区域表现出中等或中级的参与度。

Meanwhile, importantly, the students who used AI showed much weaker brain connections, meaning their brains simply weren't working as hard.

与此同时，重要的是，使用人工智能的学生表现出更弱的大脑活动，这意味着他们的大脑没有那么努力地工作。

Now, when some students switched from using AI to writing without it, their brains sort of struggled to re-engage.

当一些学生从使用AI变成不使用AI写作时，他们的大脑很难再重新投入任务中。

Others who started using AI suddenly did remember more facts, but weren't able to think as deeply.

其他开始使用AI的人确实记住了更多事实，但思考却不如以前深入。

So, what does this all mean for you?

那么这一切对你来说意味着什么呢？

Well, critics worry that using AI too much could make us " mentally lazy", relying on a machine instead of practicing thinking for ourselves.

批评者担心，过度使用AI会让我们"智力懒惰"，让我们依赖机器而不开动自己的脑筋。

But on the other hand, supporters compare AI to calculators.

但另一方面，支持者将AI比作计算器。

We don't do math problems by hand anymore, not very much anyway.

我们不再手算数学了，至少很少手算了。

They say AI can do sort of the same thing:

支持者认为AI也会带来类似的结果：

save time, spark ideas, and help students learn if used the right way.

节省时间，激发灵感，如果使用得当，还能帮助学生学习。

Whatever the case may be, my advice as a dad and as a neurosurgeon is this:

无论如何，作为父亲和神经外科医生，我的建议是

stay curious, challenge your brain however you can, and don't let the tech do all the work.

保持好奇心，尽可能挑战你的大脑，别让科技包办一切。