Schoolchildren are dispensing with analytical thinking as they increasingly lean on artificial intelligence, a fast-changing technology that many teenagers struggle to understand, a new survey shows, according to dpa.
The research, published in August by US-based media advice organization Common Sense Media, showed that pupils are foregoing “critical thinking” as the use of chatbots in the classroom expands.
Around 40% of those asked said they suspected that using AI is not helping them learn, agreeing that relying on chatbots means they generate fewer ideas of their own.
Around six in ten of the approximately 1,000 participants who use AI do so to get an answer to their schoolwork, with a quarter not bothering to rephrase the response and 31% changing the wording to make the response sound like their own.
In cases where schools block AI platforms, six in ten pupils turned to personal devices to access chatbots for help with assignments.
However, almost three-quarters of those surveyed said they have not been instructed or advised how to use AI “safely.”
“Students understand that AI threatens learning, but the reality is that it is too tempting and convenient for them to look the other way,” said Common Sense Media chief executive Jim Steyer, who called on adults to provide children with skills to use the technology “responsibly.”
Previous research has suggested that adults - including those in elite professions - are as susceptible as teenagers to letting AI do their thinking for them.
In 2025, Microsoft found multiple signs of reduced cognitive effort and less critical thinking in a survey of over 300 knowledge workers.
The latest findings were published as another poll showed that, for the first time, a majority of young adults are “more concerned than excited" about AI, with only 10% of under-30’s feeling “excited.”
Published by the Pew Research Center, the survey found 52% of all age groups deeming themselves as concerned that AI could lead to mass unemployment.
