Cognitive offloading: The brain and its digital helpers

Digital sticky notes, calendar apps, AI systems, smart homes and smart cars – more and more technical tools are taking over tasks that we previously relied on our memory, learned routines or problem-solving skills to accomplish. People have always created tools to make laborious physical work easier. But we are also outsourcing our thinking and relieving our brains of tasks that we find unpleasant – strenuous or boring – or that we believe take up too much of our time. This has consequences: not only for the way we handle information, but also for the way we make and implement decisions.

Cognitive offloading

The term ‘cognitive offloading’ is often used in this context. The expression is a 21st-century coinage, but the phenomenon of people using tools to relieve themselves of mental work is very old.

The greatest relief – and a milestone in the development of the human species – was the development and spread of writing, writing instruments and, much later, print media. Since we have been able to write down our ideas and collect facts or stories in books, we no longer need to memorise all the information or stories that we want to have available tomorrow. This even applies to mundane everyday situations: thanks to calendars, address books and notepads, we no longer need to burden our memory with appointments, telephone numbers or tasks.

Calculating machines have also been making the brain's work easier for a very long time: as early as 4,500 years ago, the Sumerians used the abacus so that they did not have to calculate all mathematical tasks in their heads.

Cognitive offloading in the digital age

Since the 1990s, the possibilities offered by digital technology have brought about a quantum leap in cognitive offload processes. On the internet, the world's knowledge is constantly available, regardless of proximity to a library and, since the spread of mobile internet, regardless of a computer workstation. Information that used to have to be memorised because you didn't want to carry an entire library around with you can now be Googled at any time.

Even personal work documents – ideas, data sets, instructions – can be downloaded from the cloud in a matter of seconds when we need them. This means we no longer need to keep our personal expertise constantly in mind. Thanks to calendar apps with reminder functions, we don't even have to remember to look at our calendars anymore.

The rapid development of artificial intelligence is taking these developments to an even higher level. AI researches, develops concepts, writes texts, creates presentations and translates from foreign languages. At present, all of this is often still quite imperfect, but if the developers' dreams come true, AI will not only relieve our memory, but in principle even relieve us of the need to acquire certain demanding intellectual skills ourselves. In the future, when every household has smart refrigerators that automatically reorder food that has run out and all cars are self-driving, we will no longer even need to think about what we need to buy or what all those colourful traffic signs actually mean.

The advantages of cognitive offloading: increased productivity and efficiency

Some of the reasons for the appeal and usefulness of cognitive offloading tools are obvious. When people no longer have to struggle with tasks they find burdensome, they can devote more energy to things that are truly important to them. For example, when AI takes over the visual design of a presentation, humans can concentrate on the content.

The fact that people find tasks tedious often indicates that the human mind is not optimised for these tasks, which is why technical aids achieve better results here. Very few people can reliably multiply three-digit numbers in their heads – a calculator is both more reliable and faster. Experiments also suggest that the use of digital tools can free up cognitive resources, enabling an increase in productivity and efficiency. Various studies have examined these relationships in detail (e.g. Gerlich: AI Tools in Society; Grinschgl/Papenmeier/Meyerhoff: Consequences of cognitive offloading).

Many industries are taking advantage of this effect. For example, modern AI systems can analyse large amounts of data, recognise patterns, determine probabilities of risk or fraud, and thus significantly speed up both claims processing and the creation of personalised tariff offers. People are relieved of tasks that would have taken them much longer to complete and can devote themselves to tasks where humans are irreplaceable, such as communicating competently with customers and partners. Stan Bowers from Spear Technologies provides an overview.

But cognitive relief can improve life beyond the workplace. Many people, especially older people, have to cope with cognitive limitations. When memory and concentration decline, digital tools can help compensate for deficits. Studies even suggest that regular, competent use of computers or smartphones trains the mind in such a way that cognitive performance is not lost in the first place. The use of digital technologies appears to have a similar preventive effect to physical activity (Benge/Scullin: A meta-analysis of technology use and cognitive ageing).

Cognitive offloading also brings problems

However, the use of tools for mental offloading also has disadvantages. The basic dilemma: the brain becomes more efficient when you use it. If you spare your brain, you risk losing abilities.

• Studies on the so-called ‘Google effect’ show that outsourcing cognitive tasks can lead to people remembering where to find information rather than retaining the content itself in their memory.
• This also impairs mental penetration and understanding of the content. Because when we want to memorise something, we usually try to understand it first. This impulse is eliminated when we simply remember that the information can be found at a specific link if needed.
• Heavy reliance on AI tools can weaken our own analytical and creative abilities.
• Search engine and social media algorithms create echo chambers of like-minded people. The ability to critically question one's own opinions in the face of counterarguments becomes weaker.
• The theory of ‘digital dementia’ (Manfred Spitzer) claims that heavy smartphone and internet use can cause symptoms similar to dementia, especially in young people. However, these findings are highly controversial.

Overall, however, there seems to be good evidence to support the assumption that cognitive offloading can lead to dependence on external tools and less productive independence. The aforementioned study by Michael Gerlich on the effects of AI warns that the use of large language models can increase productivity but reduce learning ability, critical thinking and judgement.

For companies, there is a risk of losing employee expertise: if young professionals rely on AI tools from the outset, they may not be able to develop the analytical and creative skills they need to perform tasks without technical support. They may not even be able to assess the quality of AI performance. At some point, AI will be the only benchmark for professional standards, and humans will lose the ability to manage the company.

What can be done? Competent use of digital tools

How can we reap the benefits of cognitive relief without having to accept the disadvantages? It is important to strike a balance between the desire for efficiency and the goal of developing human skills. After all, the brain's performance capabilities are astonishing – and rarely exploited to their full potential.

• Education and training should specifically focus on critical thinking and problem solving. The ability to critically assess the capabilities and limitations of AI is becoming increasingly important.
• Work processes should be designed in such a way that there is room for professional assessments by humans. Above all, risk assessments, the evaluation of long-term consequences and ethical questions should remain the domain of humans.
• In everyday life, we would do well not to use all the possibilities that technology offers us. Our own constantly updated general and specialist knowledge, our own analytical and creative abilities, and a good memory remain key life skills. Without them, there will continue to be no above-average professional success.

Further suggestions are provided by Raquel Loga from IE University in Madrid.

Competent use of relief tools sometimes requires digital abstinence. Perhaps the self-discipline required for this will itself become a central goal in qualification and personality development in the future. The path to this goal begins in school and family. But vocational training must also impart knowledge about the limits of the sensible use of digital tools. After all, relief is not an end in itself: happiness and success, creativity and productivity cannot be achieved without mental effort.

Text: Thorsten Kleinschmidt