The Developmental Bypass: How AI Assistance Undermines Human Growth

Abstract

This study examines how AI writing assistance affects human development, revealing a fundamental paradox: while AI tools improve immediate output quality, they undermine the psychological processes through which writers grow. Drawing on self- determination theory, we conducted an experiment (N=206) comparing self-editing to varying levels of AI assistance. Results demonstrate that self-editing produced significantly greater gains in writer identity (M=0.88) compared to low (M=0.54) and high (M=0.43) AI contribution conditions. Self-efficacy gains showed even starker differences, with self-editing yielding meaningful growth (M=0.41) while AI conditions produced negligible gains (<0.10). Most surprisingly, domain expertise transformed from an asset in self-editing to a liability under AI assistance, as experts defensively disengaged to protect their threatened identity. These findings suggest AI creates a "developmental bypass"—eliminating the productive struggle necessary for growth. We discuss implications for designing AI systems that enhance rather than diminish human potential, arguing for preserving developmental experiences in human-AI collaboration.

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