brAIngym: training our cognitive abilities in the age of AIgen
brAIngym is an interdisciplinary research project that analyzes how the everyday use of generative artificial intelligence (IAgen) can transform the way we think, feel, remember, learn, and decide.
We aim to raise social awareness about the impact of AI on the human brain and cognitive abilities, and to develop an initial prototype that helps people understand, reflect on, and train their cognitive, emotional, ethical, and agency capacities. The project is part of cAIre, which focuses on AI governance and its impact on the future of work, always from the perspective of vulnerable groups. In this sense, brAIngym aims to increase awareness among the general public and policymakers to anticipate potential new governance models. This is especially important because all future professions will be impacted by AI, and the innovative work that brAIngym intends to carry out is key to preventing the creation of a new vulnerable group.
Our starting point
The central hypothesis of brAIngym argues that constant interaction with generative AI systems is altering our mental and emotional routines, displacing skills such as sustained attention, working memory, or critical thinking.
brAIngym is proposed here as a metaphor and as a concept of pedagogical intervention: a critical and systematic cognitive training designed to strengthen those mental capacities that may be weakened by the intensive use of generative artificial intelligence (AIg).
Just as physical sedentary lifestyles led to the creation of gyms, cognitive automation may require new “mental training spaces” to preserve autonomy and critical thinking.
Objectives and methodology
Identify the main cognitive and behavioral impacts associated with the intensive use of generative AI.
Analyze the consequences of cognitive delegation in educational, professional, and social contexts, taking into account the developmental stage of greatest vulnerability.
Design a methodological framework for the observation and evaluation of these transformations.
Explore and design concrete strategies to strengthen cognitive and ethical capabilities in the face of automation.
The research combines documentary analysis, interdisciplinary review, qualitative interviews and pedagogical prototyping of interventions, articulating a comparative approach between generations and environments of use.
Expected results and impact
A map of evidence on the effects of generative AI on individual and collective cognition.
An analytical framework for observing “cognitive delegation”.
Practical prototypes of educational and outreach interventions to strengthen critical thinking and digital autonomy
Academic publications and policy briefs with recommendations for institutions, governments, and businesses.
Our project aims to contribute to building a socially responsible and culturally sustainable AI, reinforcing the human capacity for reflection and decision-making in digitized environments.
References and related publications
brAIngym is based on an interdisciplinary theoretical foundation that combines cognitive neuroscience, philosophy of technology, philosophy of education, social studies of AI, and the ethics of automation. These are the fundamental references that underpin our conceptual framework:
Favero L, Pérez-Ortiz J A, Käser T y Oliver N, ‘Do AItutors Empower or Enslave Learners? Toward a Critical Use of AI in Education’ (2025) arXiv:2507.06878 https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.06878.
BrainOnLLM Project Website, ‘Figures and FAQ’ (2025) https://www.brainonllm.com/
MIT Media Lab, ‘Your Brain on ChatGPT’ (Project Overview, 2025) https://www.media.mit.edu/projects/your-brain-on-chatgpt/overview/.
Risko E F y Gilbert S J (2016) ‘Cognitive offloading’ Trends in Cognitive Sciences 20(9), 676–688.
Floridi L (2019) The Logic of Information: A Theory of Philosophy as Conceptual Design (Oxford University Press).
Research team
The brAIngym project is led by two researchers who integrate perspectives from neuroscience, ethics, pedagogy, and technological governance.
Dr. Susana Cruylles — Co-investigator. Clinical psychologist specializing in family systems, cognitive neuroscience, attention and learning in digital environments, with extensive experience in designing prevention programs, cognitive development and emotional support in technological contexts.
Dr. Begoña Glez. Otero — Co-investigator. Jurist and researcher in ethical governance of artificial intelligence and data, and in public policies of innovation, with experience in the analysis of the social and regulatory impact of cognitive automation.
Collaborations and participation
brAIngym invites research centers, universities, foundations, public administrations and technology companies to collaborate in different phases of the project:
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Interdisciplinary methodological validation and contrast.
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Co-design of pilots or observation workshops in educational or corporate environments.
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Dissemination of results and joint development of publications or practical guides.
