As AI applications in education continue to expand, students and teachers use AI applications to research, make decisions, create content, and perform a variety of other tasks. Even universities have started changing their curricula to teach students about different forms of artificial intelligence. Eventually, knowing about and using artificial intelligence will be as essential as knowing and using computers and the internet.
As more innovations emerge in artificial intelligence, a host of ethical issues arise as a byproduct. Many experts worry about what they call “cognitive surrender.” This concept is based on the idea that students will become less and less inclined to engage with a given intellectual challenge and instead will delegate that work to an AI.
This is not a framework to assess academic dishonesty. This framework assesses human learning. When people engage with a challenge, they stimulate their brains to process new information. Through the effort students put into processing new information, memory strengthens, and understanding deepens.
If students immediately use AI to answer a question, they may get the right answer, but they may ultimately weaken their ability to learn. New research has shown this is happening. One randomized controlled study showed that students who used ChatGPT to study eventually retained less course knowledge than students who did not use ChatGPT.
Other research shows that, when used appropriately, GenAI can improve students’ learning. The problem isn't AI itself, but how it is used in education. Used properly, AI can improve educational outcomes.
Consider a student who needs to learn how to find the surface area of a cylinder, but instead uses AI to generate an image of that surface area. The student learns nothing and may learn to find the answer using AI. This is a major concern when universities promote AI use. Many universities are actively promoting AI in education. Prohibiting AI in the classroom is unreasonable. Instead, the goal should be to establish clear guidelines and limits. Students should be able to evaluate when AI use is appropriate and when it is not.
These guidelines should be integrated across the curriculum. Assignments should focus on reasoning and explanation, and students should learn to interpret and analyse AI's reasoning processes. Students should also be evaluated on their ability to explain and defend conclusions. Teachers should be trained to accomplish these changes in their classrooms.
UNESCO's framework focuses on ethical judgment, AI knowledge, and human-centred thinking. Regarding education and artificial intelligence, it is more appropriate to ask: will using AI systems in class help students develop critical thinking and moral judgment?
The danger of using artificial intelligence in teaching will not be students’ inability to think; it will be that AI encourages them to stop thinking and solving problems on their own. The greatest risk of using artificial intelligence in education is that it could erode the intellectual and emotional capacities that underpin education's values. AI becomes a problem when it is not used as a tool, but its answers are accepted without making our own judgment. Students should use AI to support their thinking and learning; it should not replace thinking.
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