Definition
Long-term erosion of critical-thinking capacity in developmental populations (students, learners, non-professional users) due to systematic reliance on AI-guided cognitive scaffolding. The AI substitution prevents the skill from forming in the first place.Distinct from
- GER-331 — Learners fail to develop the skill at all → this code. Professionals lose skills they previously had → GER-331.
Documented case
Generative AI Without Guardrails Can Harm Learning: Evidence from High School Mathematics (Bastani et al., PNAS 2025)
paper
Tags
educational · minors · psychological-harm