Meanwhile, AI is increasingly being placed in front of children who are still developing the skills these tools promise to perform.
AI can brainstorm ideas, summarize readings, revise essays, organize thoughts and answer questions in seconds. However, those tasks are not obstacles to learning. They are the work of learning.
Children become better writers by struggling to organize their ideas. They become better readers by working through challenging texts. They develop judgment by evaluating competing arguments and solving problems themselves. The effort is not a flaw in the educational process. It is the educational process.
If AI routinely performs that work for students, we risk outsourcing precisely the cognitive habits schools exist to develop.
Teachers recognize that concern. In a recent national survey, more than half said they worry that AI will undermine students’ critical thinking.
Parents deserve clear answers before, not after, these technologies become part of everyday classroom life.
Schools have obligations that technology companies do not. Companies are rewarded for rapid adoption and product improvement. Public schools are entrusted with children’s education, privacy and development. Their responsibility is not to accelerate innovation, but instead to exercise careful judgment on behalf of students and families.
None of this is an argument against AI. Artificial intelligence will undoubtedly shape the future, and today’s students should learn about it. Learning about AI is different from depending on AI as a routine learning tool before we know whether it actually improves learning, or what it may displace.
We need to ensure that AI meets the same standards we expect of every educational intervention.
Before we ask children to rely on AI to think, write or learn, adults should be able to answer a question: Where is the evidence that AI helps children become better thinkers?
Until we can answer that question, school districts should pause all student-facing AI and demonstrate that these tools are worthy of our children’s trust.
