Learning with AI falls short compared to old-fashioned web search

By: Shiri Melumad, University of Pennsylvania, The Conversation

Outlets: The Conversation

Published: November 19, 2025

Words: 994

Last Updated: 5 days, 18 hours ago

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By Shiri Melumad, University of Pennsylvania

Since the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, millions of people have started using large language models to access knowledge. And it’s easy to understand their appeal: Ask a question, get a polished synthesis and move on – it feels like effortless learning.

However, a new paper I co-authored offers experimental evidence that this ease may come at a cost: When people rely on large language models to summarize …

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