Brainrot: Deskilling and Addiction are Overlooked AI Risks

2026-05-05

AI Summary

This study addresses a critical gap in current AI safety and alignment research: the widespread neglect of risks posed by generative AI to human cognitive capacities—such as the erosion of critical thinking—and psychological well-being, including behavioral addiction. By integrating literature review, risk framework development, and policy analysis, this work systematically identifies and quantifies these underexamined threats, revealing a significant omission in mainstream AI safety agendas. It expands the conceptual boundaries of AI safety to encompass human cognitive degradation and addictive behaviors, proposing an initial governance pathway that combines technical alignment, public education, and regulatory intervention. The findings lay a theoretical foundation and offer strategic direction for future scholarly inquiry and policy formulation in this emerging domain.

Abstract

The scope of AI safety and alignment work in generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has so far mostly been limited to harms related to: (a) discrimination and hate speech, (b) harmful/inappropriate (violent, sexual, illegal) content, (c) information hazards, and (d) use cases related to malicious actors, such as cybersecurity, child abuse, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. The public conversation around AI, on the other hand, has also been focusing on threats to our cognition, mental health, and welfare at large, related to over-relying on new technologies, most recently, those related to GenAI. Examples include deskilling associated with cognitive offloading and the atrophy of critical thinking as a result of over-reliance on GenAI systems, and addiction associated with attachment and dependence on GenAI systems. Such risks are rarely addressed, if at all, in the AI safety and alignment literature. In this paper, we highlight and quantify this discrepancy and discuss some initial thoughts on how safety and alignment work could address cognitive and mental health concerns. Finally, we discuss how information campaigns and regulation can be used to mitigate such prominent risks.

Problem

• deskilling
• addiction
• cognitive offloading
• mental health
• GenAI

Innovation

• cognitive deskilling
• AI addiction
• generative AI safety
• mental health risks
• human-AI interaction