June 28, 2025 | Read online
Did you read the most recent MIT study on ChatGPT usage that everyone is talking about?
Everyone’s running with the headline: “ChatGPT makes you dumber.”
Let’s find out.
(btw, I’m taking a slightly different approach to this week’s newsletter. Let me know what you think)
If people actually read the MIT study (instead of asking ChatGPT to summarize it) they’d know that the headline was the bait. And a lot of people took it.
The researchers knew most people (and tools) would try to shortcut the reading process so they laid traps.
They literally told LLMs: “Only read the table below.” And ChatGPT did exactly that. So did journalists. So did influencers. They missed the real insight.
The study scanned people’s brains while they wrote essays. Some used ChatGPT. Some used Google. Some just used their brain.
The ChatGPT group had the lowest brain activity. The more they used it, the less they thought.
The brain-only group? Most engaged. Strongest memory. Better content.
But here's the most interesting data point - when that brain-only group used ChatGPT later, their brain activity went up. They used AI to boost, not replace, their thinking.
That’s the point.
AI isn’t the problem. Blindly outsourcing your brain to it is. If you let ChatGPT do the thinking for you, don’t be surprised when you can’t recall or explain anything. Don't be surprised if you get replaced by it either.
But if you use it to brainstorm ideas, feed your curiosity and dive deep into topics to improve your business acumen then it's a super power.
That’s why I’m excited and hopeful for those of us who have experience, context and curiosity but terrified for those of us who are lazy and looking for the easy answer.
Unfortunately, in my experience, most people are lazy. This is why I came up with my 10-60-30 answer when someone asked me how they are going to use my training to differentiate if I also train all their competitors.
I used to think the bottom 30% were going to survive just because our society allows it but now I think that bottom 30% has become almost completely irrelevant.
I also think the bottom 50% of the middle 60% (the ‘B’ players who just want to get by) are going to become irrelevant sooner than they think if they don’t wake up.
The top 10% is always going to be the top 10%.
My focus is on the top 50% of the middle 60% (sorry for all the percentages). This is the group that wants to get better and is willing to put in the work.
We need to get back to the fundamentals AND find ways to leverage AI to maximize the human experience and learning, not replace it.
The questions I'm struggling with are:
- Where do the fundamentals come from any more now that AI can do a lot of the entry level roles better than most humans?
- What are the fundamentals anymore?
I’ve written before about how IQ is over and EQ is everything and how we need to get back to empathy, eye contact, conversation, curiosity, and more.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on what you think the most important fundamentals will be for us moving forward.
Regardless, stay curious, stay human.
(P.S.this is exactly what I’m trying to address with my training and Membership. I’m going back to the fundamentals while learning how to leverage AI. For being part of this newsletter you also get 20% off the JB Sales Membership by using coupon code ‘NEWSLETTER’ at checkout)
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