Nataliya Kosmyna: Cognitive Debt Accumulates, You Can't Pay It Back | Rendered by Robots, Ep 3
Cognitive debt accumulates. Unlike a credit card, you can't pay it back.
Nataliya Kosmyna, Research Scientist at MIT Media Lab and author of the viral "Your Brain on ChatGPT" study, joins Spencer Striker, Professor of Digital Media Design at Northwestern University | Qatar, and co-host, Alessandra El Chanti, to discuss what happens to your brain when you outsource your thinking to AI.
In this conversation:
The study: 54 students, 3 groups, and the Session 4 "swap" that revealed everything
Why 15% of AI users felt zero ownership over their own essays
Cognitive debt: the short-term ease that costs you long-term development (and you can't pay it back)
Loss of ownership leads to loss of caring; dangerous for students, pilots, doctors, everyone
Why "Study Mode" is idealistic but likely to fail (your brain is wired to seek shortcuts)
The hopeful finding: AI works best AFTER you've done the hard thinking yourself
Zone of proximal development: what game-based learning teaches us about productive struggle
The solution: process first, AI second; AI as just-in-time, infinitely patient, hyper-personalized expert tutor in your pocket
📚 Referenced in this episode:
"Your Brain on ChatGPT" MIT Media Lab study: https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/your-brain-on-chatgpt/overview/
🔗 LINKS
Nataliya Kosmyna: MIT Media Lab media.mit.edu/people/nkosmyna
Host: spencerstriker.com
About the Series
Rendered by Robots: AI & the Future of Design Edu explores how AI is transforming the way we teach, create, and imagine media production education. It’s a podcast for educators, creators, and students navigating the AI revolution with clear eyes and curious minds.
CREDITS: Creator & Host — Spencer Striker, PhD | Co-Host & Director — Alessandra El Chanti, MFA | Featured Guest — Clay Shirky, Vice Provost for AI and Technology in Education at NYU | Editor, Sound Design & Motion Graphics — Kyle Trueblood | Producer — Adam Sullivan | Camera & Sound — Yunting "Unity" Zhan, Qinbei "Bissy" Li | Project Manager — Aimelyn Geronimo | Special Thanks — Miriam Sherin (Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education); Alumnae Award for Curriculum Innovation (Northwestern University Office of the Provost); Marwan M. Kraidy, PhD (NU-Q Office of the Dean); S. Venus Jin, PhD (Artificial Intelligence and Media Lab | AIM-LAB); Nisar Keshvani (NU-Q Communications and Public Affairs); Rami Al-Badry, Floyd Yarmuth, Ihsan Yahya (NU-Q Production & Digital Media Services) 🔖 #MITMediaLab #CognitiveDebt #YourBrainOnChatGPT #AIEducation #HigherEd #EdTech #GenerativeAI #BrainScience
