AI in schools: The impact AI use is having on young people and their education - what the evidence says

• Recent polling found that almost all teens have used AI tools or chatbots - and most have used it for schoolwork
• Teachers and pupils themselves have voiced concerns about its impacts
• An official report looking into research so far says AI use in schools could offer all sorts of opportunities
• But is comes with challenges and risks too

Generative AI is almost everywhere nowadays - and its popularity with younger generations likely means it’s here to stay.

In a recent survey of more than a thousand teens across the UK, 77% admitted to using AI to help complete their homework. Teachers raised concern about pupils coming to over-rely on these tools at school, while students themselves worried about its potential impacts - from environmental harm, to future job losses, to being disadvantaged if they didn’t use it, but their classmates did.

It is clear that artificial intelligence tools are changing the educational landscape, just like many others. But as an emerging technology, the full impacts of this - both positive and negative - are yet to be understood.

Late last year, Parliament published a horizon scanning report looking into what research, experts, and stakeholders are telling us so far. Here’s what it says about what AI in the classroom could really mean for young people:

The risks and opportunities of AI for young people - and their education

Potential harms

The report said that some academics had raised concerns around children and young people using AI frequently. These included:

• Young people having fewer interactions with educators and classmates
• Exposing young people to inappropriate or harmful content
• AI algorithms intensifying mental health issues - such as addictions, loneliness, isolation and lack of connections
• Reducing students’ ability to problem solve by themselves
• Stifling the development of some skills (the example it used was coding students using AI to instantly generate workable programmes, without teaching them how to do it themselves)
• Young people using it to ‘cheat’ in homework or assignments, rather than completing the work themselves
• Creating ‘digital divides’ in education, with access to AI tools being dependent on factors like poverty or infrastructure

AI programmes used by schools may also need access to sensitive data about their pupils in order to function, the report continued. “This carries risks of data breaches potentially exposing personal information, or inappropriate uses of data, including for surveillance.”

A personalised morning news round-up with NationalWorld Today - sign up here.

Opportunities

Of course, there are also many opportunities for AI in the classroom - to assist both teachers and students. Ways it might be able to help learners the report listed included:

• Formulating ideas - such as creating essay structures
• Helping to overcome language barriers
• Providing accessible and affordable learning support, including personalised feedback
• Helping develop critical thinking, creativity, curiosity and collaboration skills

However, it warned at the moment, both teachers and learners “may lack the necessary skills, support, and technologies” to effectively use AI in their work. On top of that, AI tools had limitations of their own - with some generating inappropriate, politically or culturally biased, or factually incorrect information. Stakeholders had also raised concerns about some models using copyrighted materials or incorrect citations in their answers.

That’s where better education about generative AI, its potential and its challenges could come into play - something universities and policy institutes have called for, the report added, to better prepare students for the changing world.

“Education about AI could also support people to get the skills they need for the workforce and contemporary life in an increasingly digital society,” the report said. As of 2023, data from the Office for National Statistics showed around one in six UK organisations were using at least one AI technology.

Widespread use might have benefits besides work-readiness too. “Some academics and education providers have highlighted how AI and digital literacy education for young children can help to prepare them to be informed digital citizens, use online information and resources responsibly, and foster creativity and problem-solving skills.”

If you have an education story to share, we’d love to hear from you. You can now send your stories to us online via YourWorld at www.yourworld.net/submit. It's free to use and, once checked, your story will appear on our website and, space allowing, in our newspapers.