Relying on AI assistance can make people give up faster when facing difficult tasks alone.

A study in 2026 tested how people solve math problems. One group used an AI helper for the first twelve questions but had to do the last three on their own. After just ten minutes of using the AI, these people were much more likely to skip the final, unassisted questions compared to those who worked alone from the start. It seems having an easy way out makes us lose our grit.