As schools embrace Al tools, sceptics raise concerns

More governments are rolling out chatbots in schools. Some experts warn the tools could erode teaching and learning, writes Natasha Singer from New York

- Natasha Singer

In early November, Microsoft said it would supply artificial intelligence tools and training to more than 200,000 students and educators in the United Arab Emirates.

Days later, a financial services company in Kazakhstan announced an agreement with OpenAI to provide ChatGPT Edu, a service for schools and universities, for 165,000 educators in Kazakhstan.

Last month, xAI, Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence company, announced an even bigger project with El Salvador: developing an AI tutoring system, using the company’s Grok chatbot, for more than a million students in thousands of schools there.

Fuelled partly by American tech companies, governments around the globe are racing to deploy generative AI systems and training in schools and universities.

Some US tech leaders say AI chatbots — which can generate humanlike emails, create class quizzes, analyse data and produce computer code — can be a boon for learning. The tools, they argue, can save teachers time, customise student learning and help prepare young people for an “AI-driven” economy.

But the rapid spread of the new AI products could also pose risks to young people's development and well-being, some children's and health groups warn.

A recent study from Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University found that popular AI chatbots may diminish critical thinking. AI bots can produce authoritative-sounding errors and misinformation, and some teachers are grappling with widespread AI-assisted student cheating.

Silicon Valley for years has pushed tech tools like laptops and learning apps into classrooms, with promises of improving education access and revolutionising learning.