The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett

ChatGPT Brain Rot Debate: The Fastest Way to Get Dementia, Watch This Before Using ChatGPT Again, Especially If Your Kids Use It!

Monday, August 18, 2025

MIT just announced that AI is rotting your brain?! Two world-leading experts break this study down and reveal how AI and ChatGPT could silently shrink your brain, kill creativity, and wreck your memory. 


Dr Daniel Amen is a renowned psychiatrist, brain health expert, and founder of Amen Clinics, which holds over 270,000 brain scans. He is joined by Dr Terry Sejnowski, a pioneer in the field of computational neuroscience and co-creator of the Boltzmann machine, a groundbreaking neural network that helped lay the foundation for modern AI. 


They discuss:

  • The evolutionary reason why ChatGPT is dangerous for your brain 

  • How ChatGPT trains your brain to avoid discomfort, and why that’s dangerous 

  • How using AI too early in life may block emotional growth and resilience 

  • The surprising reason AI might make you more anxious, not less

  • Why brain reserve is your greatest defense against future decline

  • The hidden mental cost of seeking “perfect” partners through robotics and artificial intimacy

  • What you can do right now to protect your brain health in an AI-saturated world


    00:00 Intro

    00:02:53 Terry's Background

    00:03:35 Daniel Amen Introduction

    00:04:35 MIT Study: ChatGPT and Reduced Brain Function

    00:07:42 The Link Between ChatGPT and Dementia

    00:11:09 Biggest AI Concerns Before Understanding Long-Term Consequences

    00:19:49 What Does a Healthy Relationship with AI Look Like?

    00:23:09 AI and Early Brain Development

    00:25:43 AI Girlfriends

    00:35:38 Why Struggle Is Good for Your Brain

    00:37:24 Biggest Concerns with AI

    00:40:26 ChatGPT Best Practices

    00:45:07 Do We Still Need to Spell?

    00:46:53 How Can We Learn Better?

    00:48:32 How to Avoid Procrastination

    00:52:12 Ads

    00:54:15 Boosting Brain Health Without AI

    00:57:57 Are We Raising Mentally Weak Kids?

    00:58:46 Effects of Religion on the Brain

    01:01:43 How to Build a Brain-Healthy Nation

    01:03:55 Things That Are Bad for Your Brain

    01:07:24 Artificial Sweeteners

    01:09:07 Is Loud Noise Bad for Your Brain?

    01:10:19 Ads

    01:11:11 Multitasking

    01:12:59 What’s Causing the Rise in ADHD?

    01:16:07 Negativity in the Brain

    01:18:30 The Top Tip for a Healthier Brain

    01:21:08 Importance of Sleep for Brain Health

    01:26:59 Are You Prepared for Your Next Health Challenge?


Follow Dr Daniel:

Instagram - https://bit.ly/45pGDHk 

X - https://bit.ly/4m8NtIz 

Website - https://bit.ly/4lhW9uS

Podcast - https://apple.co/4op5WSz

You can purchase Dr Daniel’s book, ‘Raising Mentally Strong Kids’, here: https://amzn.to/4ldncHB 


Follow Dr Terry:

X - https://bit.ly/4frO4T6 

Salk Institute Academic Profile - https://bit.ly/3H3Sy5H 

Publications - https://bit.ly/4mbwrcS

You can purchase Dr Terry’s book, ‘ChatGPT and the Future of AI: The Deep Language Revolution’, here: https://amzn.to/45kw0Wb 


The Diary Of A CEO:

⬜️Join DOAC circle here - https://doaccircle.com/ 

⬜️Buy The Diary Of A CEO book here - https://smarturl.it/DOACbook 

⬜️The 1% Diary is back - limited time only: https://bit.ly/3YFbJbt 

⬜️The Diary Of A CEO Conversation Cards (Second Edition): https://g2ul0.app.link/f31dsUttKKb 

⬜️Get email updates - https://bit.ly/diary-of-a-ceo-yt 

⬜️Follow Steven - https://g2ul0.app.link/gnGqL4IsKKb 


Independent research:https://stevenbartlett.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DOAC-Dr-Terry-Dr-Amen-debate-Independent-Research-further-reading-.pdf


Sponsors:

Stan Store - https://stevenbartlett.stan.store/  for your 30-day free trial
Vodafone - Check out the first episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL1Swvp4X5w

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices