An opinion essay republished by Huxiu AI and originally published by the WeChat account 极智GeeTech argues that the real risk of the AI era is not replacement by machines but users voluntarily handing over the reins of thought. It describes a habitual loop of asking, waiting and copying answers, and says heavy reliance differs from gaming or short-video addiction because it wears away deep thinking, critical judgment and independent reasoning. The author notes that medicine does not yet classify "AI addiction" as a formal diagnosis, with academics preferring terms such as problematic AI use or AI over-dependence, and cites studies including an estimated 5–10% prevalence of problematic generative AI use, a JAMA Network Open survey of more than 20,000 U.S. adults, and Chinese surveys on students and workers.