Teachers warn AI is impacting students' critical thinking

Artificial intelligence is playing an increasingly dominant role in how students navigate school, and some teachers are warning the technology could be hurting their critical thinking skills. Why it matters: AI use among school-aged children has increased dramatically as the bots appear in everything from Google searches to Spotify playlists. In fall 2023, a survey from Common Sense Media found that nearly half of young people had never used AI tools or didn't know what they were, but by September 2024, 70 percent of U.S. teens had used at least one type of generative AI tool. Gina Parnaby, a 12th grade English teacher at Atlanta's Marist School, said that she has seen students using AI "as a way to outsource their thinking" and "flat-out cheat." Alexa Borota, an 11th grade teacher at New Jersey's Trenton Central High School, agrees AI can hurt students' critical thinking skills and worsen attention spans already shortened by smartphones.