Short-term AI literacy intervention does not reduce over-reliance on incorrect ChatGPT recommendations

Abstract

In this study, we examined whether a short-form AI literacy intervention could reduce the adoption of incorrect recommendations from large language models. High school seniors were randomly assigned to either a control or an intervention group, which received an educational text explaining ChatGPT's working mechanism, limitations, and proper use. Participants solved math puzzles with the help of ChatGPT's recommendations, which were incorrect in half of the cases. Results showed that students adopted incorrect suggestions 52.1% of the time, indicating widespread over-reliance. The educational intervention did not significantly reduce over-reliance. Instead, it led to an increase in ignoring ChatGPT's correct recommendations. We conclude that the usage of ChatGPT is associated with over-reliance and it is not trivial to increase AI literacy to counter over-reliance.