The global artificial intelligence (AI) value has skyrocketed four times since 2025. AI adoption rates have experienced an explosive growth over the course of six years (2020 to 2026). According to SellersCommerce, approximately 88 percent of companies globally are using AI to promote their products. The rapid adoption of AI in schools is driven by the accessibility of these tools. 35 percent to 57 percent of students use AI to combat burnout and to understand complex concepts.
According to EdWeek, it is estimated that roughly 60 to 80 percent of teachers across the United States use AI weekly for things such as lesson planning, emails, and brainstorming.
“If students use it to replace their critical thinking skills, it’s not helpful,” said Geometry teacher Erik Booher.
Yet only one-fourth (25 percent) of U.S. K-12 teachers believe that AI causes more harm than good in their classrooms, according to the Pew Research Center. Various students have mixed views on the use of AI; most feel that it is practically cheating, but some also feel that it could be used as a crutch for teaching and learning.
“AI is not necessary, but it could be used as a great resource for learning,” said junior Avery Sitko
Though AI assists students with research, writing, and problem-solving, which could set students back significantly by undermining their essential skill developments, it could also decrease the capacity for academic setbacks. Students need to be able to develop their own understanding and adapt to overcome obstacles without help. Students also have mixed, sometimes controversial, opinions on this.
“It (AI) destroys a kid’s creativity and takes away from the learning experience,” said freshman Braydon Wood.
Multiple prominent figures like Bill Gates and AI expert Geoffrey Hinton predict that AI will ultimately take over the learning system.
Howard Gardner and Athena Roberts, who is a part of the Harvard panel, discussed how AI makes “most cognitive aspects of the mind” optional, predicting that by 2050, traditional schooling will be considered obsolete.
As industries are taking this approach towards AI, tech companies have been developing personalized AI tutors and shifting education to be more on the path of AI-driven curricula. However, some academics warn that this shift will weaken critical thinking and replace valuable, in-person education with corporate-sponsored, automated systems.
Students counting on AI academically could also reduce their academic independence, which can result in plagiarism or superficial learning, according to PMC studies. AI tools could also provide biased or inaccurate information, leading students to learn incorrect information, which is difficult for them to unlearn, a common risk highlighted by researchers on AI in education. While AI holds potential for personalized learning, its misuse threatens to create a “shadow learning” environment where efficiency is valued over true cognitive growth.
