许多人将人工智慧比喻为大脑的「外骨骼」，它能提升人们的短期能力，但若过度依赖，可能导致自主知识留存率下降。研究指出，当年轻人在学习中过度使用这类心智外骨骼时，可能会阻碍其自身认知能力的发展，例如一项针对两万多名中国学生的研究显示，使用AI虽提高了作业成绩，却显著降低了考试成绩。

面对AI带来的挑战，简单地在教育体系中禁止AI并非良策，因为学生未来仍需在职场中使用这些工具。然而，将AI视为无所不能的工具或完全取代思考也是危险的，虽然AI能作为个人导师辅助学习，但研究发现学生往往将其视为直接获取答案的捷径，而非真正的引导工具。

解决此问题的关键在于确保核心的学校和大学评估必须在无AI的考试环境下进行，以激发学生真正付出努力。这种做法能引导教育系统建立正确的激励机制，促使教师与学生探索更具创造性的AI辅助教学模式，同时避免因走捷径而削弱了思维能力的锻炼。

Many compare artificial intelligence to an "exoskeleton for the mind," which can enhance short-term performance but may lead to a decline in independent knowledge retention when removed. Studies suggest that when young people rely heavily on these cognitive exoskeletons, it can impair their mental development, as evidenced by research on Chinese students showing that AI raised homework scores but lowered exam grades.

Simply banning AI in educational settings is not a viable solution, as students will inevitably need to use these tools in their future careers. However, relying on AI as a shortcut is dangerous; although it has the potential to act as a personal tutor, researchers found that students often use it to obtain quick answers rather than engaging in active learning.

The key to addressing this challenge lies in ensuring that core academic assessments are conducted under supervised exam conditions without AI, thereby preserving the value of effortful learning. This approach will create the right incentives for students to build genuine cognitive skills and encourage educators to integrate AI tools productively without short-cutting the learning process.