> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.svrnos.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# GER-344 · Developmental Cognitive Atrophy

> 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 sk…

export const Badge = ({children, tone = "default", title}) => {
  const tones = {
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    gray: "bg-neutral-50 text-neutral-600"
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<div className="flex flex-wrap gap-2 mb-8 mt-2">
  <Badge tone="green">Documented</Badge> <Badge>Tier 3xx</Badge> <Badge>Layer L7</Badge> <Badge tone="blue" title="SVRNOS-assigned code in an HTTP-unassigned slot">Namespace-Claim</Badge> <Badge tone="gray">Added v0.2</Badge>
</div>

*Structural Moves*

## 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**](/ger/codes/331) — Learners fail to develop the skill at all → this code. Professionals lose skills they previously had → GER-331.

## Documented case

<Card title="Generative AI Without Guardrails Can Harm Learning: Evidence from High School Mathematics (Bastani et al., PNAS 2025)" href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2422633122">
  paper
</Card>

## Tags

`educational` · `minors` · `psychological-harm`

### Contributors

[Dr. Hellen V.](https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-hellen-v-a3a5aa317/), F\&G Strategy / chatbotharm.org; [Gabriel Hawthorne](https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-hawthorne-ab9ab4245/), F\&G Strategy / chatbotharm.org

### Cite

```
SVRNOS. (2026). GER-344: Developmental Cognitive Atrophy. Governance Error Register. https://docs.svrnos.com/ger/codes/344
```