🟨 TEXTO 1.
ChatGPT May Be Eroding Critical Thinking Skills, According to a New MIT Study
The study divided 54 subjects — 18 to 39 year-olds from the Boston area — into three groups, and asked them to write several SAT essays using OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google's search engine, and nothing at all, respectively.
Researchers used an electroencephalogram (EEG) to record the writers' brain activity across 32 regions, and found that of the three groups, ChatGPT users had the lowest brain engagement and consistently underperformed at neural, linguistic, and behavioral levels.
Over the course of several months, ChatGPT users got lazier with each subsequent essay, often resorting to copy-and-paste by the end of the study.
The paper suggests that the usage of large language models (LLMs) could actually harm learning, especially for younger users. The paper has not yet been peer reviewed, and its sample size is relatively small.
But the paper’s main author, Nataliya Kosmyna, felt it was important to release the findings to elevate concerns that as society increasingly relies upon LLMs for immediate convenience, long-term brain development may be sacrificed in the process.
The group that wrote essays using ChatGPT all delivered extremely similar essays that lacked original thought, relying on the same expressions and ideas.
Two English teachers who assessed the essays called them largely “soulless.”
The EEGs revealed low executive control and attentional engagement. And by their third essay, many of the writers simply gave the prompt to ChatGPT and had it do almost all of the work.
“It was more like, ‘just give me the essay, refine this sentence, edit it, and I’m done,’” Kosmyna says.
The brain-only group, conversely, showed the highest neural connectivity, especially in alpha, theta and delta bands, which are associated with creativity ideation, memory load, and semantic processing.
Researchers found this group was more engaged and curious, and claimed ownership and expressed higher satisfaction with their essays.
The third group, which used Google Search, also expressed high satisfaction and active brain function.
The difference here is notable because many people now search for information within AI chatbots as opposed to Google Search.
After writing the three essays, the subjects were then asked to re-write one of their previous efforts — but the ChatGPT group had to do so without the tool, while the brain-only group could now use ChatGPT.
The first group remembered little of their own essays, and showed weaker alpha and theta brain waves, which likely reflected a bypassing of deep memory processes.
The second group, in contrast, performed well, exhibiting a significant increase in brain connectivity across all EEG frequency bands.
This gives rise to the hope that AI, if used properly, could enhance learning as opposed to diminishing it.
🔗 Adapted from: TIME — https://time.com/7295195/ai-chatgpt-google-learning-school/
🟨 QUESTÃO 27.
What did the EEG data suggest about ChatGPT users' executive control during essay writing?
🄰 Being higher than that of the brain-only group.
🄱 Declining over time, indicating reduced attentional engagement.
🄲 Remaining stable across all three essays.
🄳 Improving when they used Google Search as well.
🄴 Matching that of the Google Search group.
Gabarito: 🄱
🧭 1️⃣ Leitura orientada
A questão exige interpretar dados de EEG relacionados a controle executivo e atenção. O texto indica uma tendência progressiva de queda, não um estado pontual.
📝 2️⃣ Análise técnica das alternativas
(A) ❌ Incorreta.
O grupo brain-only apresentou o maior controle e conectividade neural.
🚩 Pegadinha: inverter hierarquia entre grupos.
(B) ✅ Correta.
Os dados mostram baixo controle executivo e
redução do engajamento atencional,
especialmente ao longo do tempo.
🚩 Pegadinha evitada: captar a progressão negativa.
(C) ❌ Incorreta.
O texto afirma declínio, não estabilidade,
principalmente até o terceiro ensaio.
🚩 Pegadinha: ignorar marcadores temporais.
(D) ❌ Incorreta.
Usuários de ChatGPT não alternaram para Google Search
durante o experimento principal.
🚩 Pegadinha: misturar protocolos experimentais.
(E) ❌ Incorreta.
O grupo Google Search manteve maior atividade cerebral,
não equivalente ao grupo ChatGPT.
🚩 Pegadinha clássica IME: falsa equivalência.
⚠️ 3️⃣ Armadilhas clássicas do IME
• Ignorar evolução temporal do experimento
• Confundir grupos e protocolos
• Suavizar conclusões negativas explícitas
🧠 4️⃣ Resumo B3GE™ Master
✔ Evidência: EEG com baixo controle executivo
✔ Tendência: declínio progressivo do engajamento
✔ Grupo afetado: usuários de ChatGPT
✔ Alternativa correta: (B)
🔎 Gabarito confirmado: (B)