By Leeanne Toneman 25^th June 2025

Recently my husband coined the phrase HI, which he says means Human Intelligence. He was telling one of his clients that he used HI to fix the problem they had with their IT issue. My husband has been playing with machines and computers since he was a child and was involved with using email since the early days with CSIRO. So, when he speaks up and says we should be careful about the use of AI – I pay attention.

Most of us use technology in our lives, but I think we need to be aware of what it is doing to us along the way and how we can use it whilst mitigating the negative effects it imposes.

The evolution of humans has been a progression of adapting to our environment, as well as changing our environment to suit our needs. The pivotal adaptation of bipedalism freed up our hands to develop tools and use them for our benefit. As our ancestors expanded their tool usage, their brain size started to increase as well. They became better able to hunt and process food, improving their diet. Along with a nutritional upgrade, there was an ongoing progression in social structure and cultural development.  

Modern human society has been impacted by the development of language, critical thinking and cultural practices. Communication, collaboration and the sharing of knowledge has facilitated the rapid growth of civilisation and the technology we use. Skip forward to today, where we live in a society that is becoming more and more reliant on the tools we use.

A recent MIT study found that heavy AI use, like ChatGPT, reduces memory, critical thinking, and brain activity. Researchers found that most people who rely on AI tools for writing are struggling to stay engaged and can’t recall what they wrote minutes before.  Neural linguistic and behavioural performances have reduced in users of such AI over a four-month study. This poses the question of the long-term educational implications for our children’s brain development and cognition as AI is becoming more common place in schools and universities.  

What can we do?

Awareness is a good start. Using AI tools as a support and not a substitute and placing importance back on mental effort. Reinforcing the importance of Human Intelligence in planning, analysing, revising and thinking deeply.  Our children can be encouraged to use their brains.

At Zen Equilibrium we can educate your whole family about the importance of movement for neural connections within our brains. Neural health is important for learning, reading, writing, co-ordination, concentration, behaviour and social interactions. We employ various methods such as Brain Gym, Primitive Reflexes Integration Movement (PRIM) technique, Hypnotherapy and Kinesiology to help you improve brain integration and brain health.

Please contact us for more information on what you can do to ensure your whole family maintains their neuroplasticity and enhances their Human Intelligence.

 

References:

• Chow.A.R, (2025, Jun 24) ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, According to a New MIT Study. https://time.com/7295195/ai-chatgpt-google-learning-school/
• Louise. N. (2025, Jun 19) MIT study finds that ChatGPT is making people dumber; 83% of ChatGPT users can’t recall what they just wrote. https://techstartups.com/2025/06/19/mit-study-finds-that-chatgpt-is-making-people-dumber-83-of-chatgpt-users-cant-recall-what-they-just-wrote/
• Uy.A, (2025, May31) The Evolution of Humans: How Our Ancestors Shaped Who We Are Today. "https://discoverwildscience.com/the-evolution-of-humans-how-our-ancestors-shaped-who-we-are-today-3-269316/">https://discoverwildscience.com/the-evolution-of-humans-how-our-ancestors-shaped-who-we-are-today-3-269316/