
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:
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The evolutionary reason why ChatGPT is dangerous for your brain
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How ChatGPT trains your brain to avoid discomfort, and why that’s dangerous
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How using AI too early in life may block emotional growth and resilience
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The surprising reason AI might make you more anxious, not less
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Why brain reserve is your greatest defense against future decline
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The hidden mental cost of seeking “perfect” partners through robotics and artificial intimacy
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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
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:
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
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Independent research:https://stevenbartlett.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DOAC-Dr-Terry-Dr-Amen-debate-Independent-Research-further-reading-.pdf
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