What did you leave in your inbox at your last job?
Our client logged into his ex-employee’s inbox to recover a file. What he found exposed a bullying manager, an unowned domain, and a marketing stack he no longer controlled.
Over the weekend, I listened to the Diary of a CEO podcast where Dr Daniel Amen and Dr Terry Sejnowski discussed the dangers of using AI incorrectly and broke down the latest MIT research on critical thinking.
Back at work, Amanda and I had our usual Monday morning catch up and discussed how AI usage seems to be impacting the people around us, both personally and professionally. With ‘People’ one of the core business levers driving our Profit on Purpose program, this type of thinking and discussion is critical to our work and how we continue to evolve our program.
On Tuesday, I attended the ADMA Forum 2025 (I facilitate courses for ADMA) and Todd Sampson gave a truly awesome keynote at the end of the day. A TED Talk–style exploration of what makes our brains extraordinary, it was hands down my highlight of the day. The timing across all three could not have been more uncanny.
Todd didn’t link his keynote to the use of AI but research out of MIT is suggesting what many of us have quietly suspected: using LLM AI tools may actually be eroding our ability to think critically, express ourselves in writing, and retain information.
Dr Amen and Dr Sejnowski go further, warning that over-reliance on generative AI tools could shrink our brain reserve, kill creativity, and even block emotional growth and resilience in younger generations and increase our risk of early onset of dementia.
MIT, one of the world’s most respected research institutions, found that when people use AI to solve problems, they often lean on it too quickly, bypassing their own brain’s reasoning. This leads to ‘automation bias’: over-trusting the tool instead of testing their own judgement. The result? We risk degrading our ability to solve problems independently and weakening the very skills that set us apart as human thinkers.
The podcast sharpened this point: by training our brains to avoid discomfort, AI reinforces the path of least resistance. Over time, this could increase anxiety, limit resilience, and create a dependency that quietly hollows out our mental strength.
It’s important to be clear: there is no definitive scientific timeline (yet!) for how quickly our brains might erode if we misuse AI.
The MIT study shows short-term effects in reduced critical reasoning, while experts like Dr Amen and Dr Sejnowski warn of possible long-term risks such as reduced brain reserve or earlier onset of dementia. The exact speed and trajectory are still unknown, but the early warning signs should be more than enough for us to take seriously.
And let’s be honest: what people care about most is not abstract theory, but their own brain. This is about me, about you, about protecting the one thing that makes us human.
Todd spoke about his own brain science documentary, Redesign My Brain, working with 19 brain scientists across three continents. He reminded us of something vital: the brain only develops when pushed outside its comfort zone. That’s how plasticity works. Growth comes from:
His ultimate rally cry: Attention control. When you control your mind, you control your life. So why wouldn’t we do everything in our power to protect our brains?
AI promises productivity and shortcuts. But if we’re not careful, it can rob us of the very struggle our brains need to grow. Todd’s keynote, the MIT study, and the warnings from Dr Amen and Dr Sejnowski converge on the same truth: the comfort of AI keeps us inside our comfort zone. And that’s exactly where the brain stops developing.
After listening to the podcast, watching Todd in action, and reading the research, I was left with one question: can we teach ourselves to use AI the right way so we get all the benefit from it, but don’t do harm to ourselves?
Here’s the good news: YES! We can fix this ourselves! We don’t need to stop using AI. We need to change how we use it. Think of AI not as your replacement, but as your collaborator.
The human brain is the most powerful computer we’ll ever own. Let’s not outsource it into redundancy.
Think about how we reacted to COVID: we completely changed the way we worked and lived almost overnight, because we were terrified of dying from a new virus. That was the right kind of urgent response to an existential threat.
In my opinion, misuse of generative AI carries a quieter but equally dangerous risk. If we use it incorrectly, we could turn humans in the developed world into braindead zombies within a decade. Isn’t that worth paying attention to?
Do you not think we should do everything in our power to protect it?
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