When you think about artificial intelligence (AI), do you get excited, or do you shut down? These seem to be the two responses among parents right now. Some are curious and eager to integrate new tech while others want to proceed with more caution and perhaps avoid AI if possible. But the thing is, it’s not going away. AI is going to be with our kids in schools for the foreseeable future. But will there be a negative impact of artificial intelligence on students?
Going forward, it’s going to help if we educate ourselves about what’s happening with AI in schools while staying aware of the fear and concerns it may bring. Currently, there are several big fears circulating about AI and learning in schools. Here are 3 of them.
1. Won’t kids cheat?
That’s the biggest question. And by now, you probably know AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Gemini, or Copilot can answer math questions, write essays, and provide answers at lightning speed. But interestingly, research from Stanford University found at the end of last year that “the popularization of A.I. chatbots has not boosted overall cheating rates in schools.” In surveys, researchers learned the percentage of students who cheated this year was the same as in previous years. What schools and parents need to do now is talk to kids about how to use AI in an ethical way. Cheating off a friend’s test is wrong and so is getting answers off ChatGPT. Teachers and parents will need to teach kids how to use AI as an educational tool instead of an answer key.
Even though most elementary schools are not giving kids access to chatbots right now, these tools will be free and available once your child gets his own phone or accesses the internet on a computer. So, take the time now to sit with your kids and talk with them about AI. Find out what they already know. And do research yourself. Getting familiar with AI will help you be a better leader for your children.
2. Won’t AI prevent my kid from actually learning?
In elementary school, kids will learn to read, do mental math, and memorize spelling words. They can’t fake that. And teachers will continue to assess students’ learning with in-class assignments and through verbal communication. AI won’t be a substitute for teacher-led instruction. But it can improve current teaching methods. Whereas in previous years, students had to wait for a teacher’s attention to receive help, now with AI, kids can continue to work at their own pace and use an AI-powered tutor to answer questions and assist in learning. AI will effectively eliminate downtime.
Many educational sources are also hopeful that AI tools will equalize learning for all students. According to the Ed Tech Review, “AI can assess each student’s abilities in real-time and tailor instruction to their needs.” It can also identify “achievement gaps” among groups and use adaptive testing to “adjust difficulty and question types based on performance.” In other words, AI can meet kids where they are academically, keep the learning going, and facilitate more productivity in the school day.
AI is going to change how learning looks for kids and has the potential to make it more exciting. And “integrating AI into education from an early age can help demystify the technology and foster AI literacy across all age groups,” says Samuel Mormando, Director of Technology at the Garnet Hill School District in Pennsylvania.
3. I’ve heard AI tools are biased. How can we allow our kids to use biased tech?
Using AI in the classroom is very new, and not all teachers or schools are familiar with it yet. Developers are also still tweaking algorithms and fixing issues. And this is important because bias has turned up in the responses generated by chatbots. Recently, Google took its AI-powered chatbot Gemini offline to address issues related to bias. And bias certainly would be a negative impact of artificial intelligence on students.
You might be wondering how this could happen. It goes back to the creation stage of large language models (LLMs). LLMs like Gemini and ChatGPT have been trained on vast amounts of data from many different sources on the internet. If the data contains gender, racial, or cultural bias, the LLM will learn those biases as well. The good news is big developers like Google and OpenAI are aware of this problem and continuously working to fine-tune their models.
For mostly older students whose teachers are integrating AI in lessons, AI tools can be used to make sure the materials are fair and inclusive. AI can flag “instances where certain students may be overlooked or underrepresented” and promote “more inclusive teaching practices” to foster “a sense of belonging for all students,” says THE Journal, an education and tech magazine.
Fortunately, for those of us with young children, elementary students are more likely to use AI-powered tutors and games in the classroom rather than LLMs. But, someday soon, your kids might ask for a phone or access a chatbot at school or a friend’s house. It’s a good idea to start talking about biases and misinformation with them now because just like humans, AI tools make mistakes.
Read more in Part 2: 3 MORE Fears About AI and Learning in Schools.
Sound off: Have you noticed any negative impact of artificial intelligence on students? If so, what?
Huddle up with your kids and ask, “What are some benefits of technology, and what are some downsides?”