Henry Resnick
Senior Thesis | 2026
HenryResnick
Inthelastthreeyears,artificialintelligencehasrapidly evolvedfromcomplexmachinelearningalgorithmsintoa consumer-friendlytechnologyincreasinglypresentineveryday life.Thistechnologyhasbecomeprevalentintheclassroom,where studentscommunicatewithlargelanguagemodelsfortutoringand adviceforimprovingtheirwork.Onewritinginstructor,Meghan O’Rourke,arguesthatAIcanbeausefulassistivetool,butit shouldnotreplacetheintellectualworkthatgiveslearningits value(O’Rourke).Shebelievesthat,ifunchecked,studentsmay outsourcethelearningprocessandcriticalthinkingthathelpsthem developtheirwritingskills.TheongoingdiscussionaboutAIin schoolsisoftenpolarized,reducingtoachoicebetweenallowing ordisallowingstudentaccesstothesetools.Instead,thefocus shouldbeonidentifyingwhichaspectsofAIshouldbeencouraged andintegratedintothelearningenvironment,andwhichaspects shouldnot.MostdiscussionsaboutAIusehavebeencenteredon highereducation,butforadolescents,whosecognitive,social,and emotionaldevelopmentisstillunderway,thesesystemspose uniquerisks.ThispaperarguesthattheissueofAIusagein secondaryeducation(grades6-12)isnotAIitself,buthowAI’s designinteractswithadolescentdevelopmentandeducational structuresthatarecurrentlyunpreparedtoaddressit.AsAI becomesmoreembeddedinlearningenvironments,itcontinuesto shapehowstudentsthink,write,reason,andrelatetoothers. EducatorsmustnowfacetherealitythatAIislikelyheretostay andthatanincreasingrelianceonthesetoolsposessignificantrisks
tocriticalthinking,skilldevelopment,andsocialgrowth,affecting anadolescent’sfutureacademic,professional,andsocialsuccess. Wemustengagedirectlywiththesetechnologiestopreventthem fromquietlyreplacingthecognitiveandsocialworkthateducation ismeanttocultivate.
Theuseofartificialintelligenceinwritingprovides studentswithgreateraccesstoeditingandimprovementresources. However,whenusedtoreplacecriticalthinking,studentsmay developanoverrelianceonthesetoolsandbeunabletowrite effectivelywithoutthem.InJune2025,Kosmynaetal.publisheda researchstudythatfocusesonhowusingAIaffectscognitionand criticalthinkingattheneurologicallevelbycomparingthebrain activityofparticipantstaskedwithwritingwhoaregivenChatGPT andthosewhoarenot,findingthatindividualswhousedChatGPT whenwritingexperiencedreducedbrainconnectivityandcognitive impairment(Kosmynaetal.2,142-3).Additionally,individualsin the“LLM”groupshowedreducedalpha-bandactivity,indicating thattheirbrainswereoperatingatalowerlevelandengagingin lessanalyticalprocessingtypicallydemonstratedforwritingand synthesis.Overthelongterm,thisreducedactivitycanhave lastingeffectsandmakeitdifficulttowritewithoutAIassistance inthefuture.Whencontextualizedforadolescents,theseresults highlightseriousimplicationsforlong-termdevelopmentand executivefunction.Duringthisperiod,adolescentsbegintolearn, understand,anddevelopformalthinkingskills,andexplicit instructionincriticalthinkingisessentialfortheseskillsto developmosteffectively(Towne).WhenstudentsrelyonAIto completeassignments,theyarenotpracticingorlearningthese skills;rather,theyareoutsourcingthewritingprocessand,along withit,thecriticalthinkingprocess.Studentsmustlearnthat writingisnotmerelytheproductionofatextbutaniterative processofdevelopingideas.Tohelppreventstudentsfrom
developingapotentiallylifelongdependenceonAItools,we shouldexaminehowstudentscanusethesetoolswithoutreplacing criticalthinking.Itisimportanttodiscouragestudentsfromrelying onAItocompletetheirwork.Wecanachievethisby demonstratingappropriateusecases,suchasdataanalysis,editing completedwork,andtasksinwhichthecreationprocessisless significant.Notably,Kosmynaetal’sresultshighlightthat participantsfromthe“brain-only”groupwhoweregivenAIand taskedtorewriteprevioustopicsshowedhigherneural connectivity(interconnectednessofbrainsynapses)thanthe originalLLMgroup,and“suggeststhatrewritinganessayusing AItools(afterpriorAI-freewriting)engagedmoreextensivebrain networkinteractions”(Kosmynaetal.3).Whenusedafterunaided engagement,AIappearstoreinforcelearningratherthansuppress it,underscoringtheimportanceofdelayedandlimitedusefor adolescents.
Onepotentiallearningframeworkthatinforms collaborativeinteractionsbetweenstudentsandartificial intelligencetoolsistheThink-Pair-Share(TPS)strategy.TPSisa pedagogicalstrategythatutilizesstudent-studentinteractionto promotegreaterengagementwiththematerial(TheDerekBok CenterforTeachingandLearning).A2025studybyPinedaand Oronganexamineshowthisapproachcanbeutilizedandimproved byaddingAItostudentconversations,andfoundthatstudentswho engagedwiththeAIaftertheirconversationsdemonstratedhigher levelsofcriticalthinkingskillsthanstudentswhoengagedwithout theAI(102-104).WhenstudentsinteractwiththeAI,theyengage morewiththematerial;theyinterrogatethegeneratedoutput's responsesandfosterdeeperconversationsaboutthetopicathand (103).Thisstrategymitigatesthedevelopmentofcognitivedebtas describedbyKosmynaetal.byexplicitlydefiningAI’sroleinthe classroom.Ratherthanasupposedlyall-knowingsourceof
information,theAIistreatedasanotherindividualperspectiveto besupportedorchallengedbyotherperspectives.Importantly,the distinctionbetweenPinedaandOrongan’sstudyandKosmynaet al’sisthematerialandmethodofengagementwithartificial intelligence.PinedaandOronganreinforcetheimportanceof supportiveengagement,whereAIisnotanintegralpartofthetask butistheretosupplementgapsandofferperspective,andactive engagement,whereAIisusedsemi-continuouslyduringthetaskas anextension,oroftenareplacement,oftheuser.Byreinforcingthe studentasthefinaljudgeofinformationandencouragingstudents toviewandcriticallyevaluateAIoutputs,theTPSframework demonstratesthat,whenimplementedproperly,AIcanserveasa broadercollaborativetoolforstudents,ratherthanpromoting criticalthinkingorshort-circuitingtheprocessentirely.
Beyonditseffectsoncriticalthinking,artificialintelligence reshapesthelandscapeforhowstudentsformandretain foundationaltask-basedskills.Task-basedskillsinvolverapid recallofwell-practiced,subject-specificknowledgethat,through repetition,becomessecondnaturetoexecute(AckermanandTatel 411-12).Someexamplesincludememorizingmultiplicationtables orinternalizingthefundamentalsofalgebraicprocedure.Withouta solidfoundationintheseimportantskills,later,moredifficulttasks thatbuildonthemwillbeexceedinglydifficultforstudentsto solve.Cognitiveskilldevelopment,retention,andrelearningtend tofollowa“useitorloseit”principle,wherebyskillsare strengthenedthroughrepeatedengagementanddeteriorate graduallywhentheyarenotpracticedfrequentlyandconsistently. Thisskilldecayisnotpermanent,andbypracticingtheskillagain, alostskillcanberelearnedrelativelyquickly(AckermanandTatel 422-3).Inmostapplications,though,peakretentionoftheseskills iscrucialtotaskperformance,andsomeenvironmentsdonot allowforthetimeand/orspacerequiredtorelearnatask.Asthe
numberofwaysinwhichartificialintelligencecanassisthumans intheirworkincreases,theriskofAI-inducedskilldecaycould becomemorewidespread(Macnameraetal.4).Whilelearningto collaboratewithAIisavaluableprofessionalasset,adolescents mustbeencouragedtodeveloptheseskillsunaided.Skill acquisitiontypicallybeginswith“inefficientalgorithmsthatare highincognitiveeffort”(Macnameraetal.2).Thisprocessis crucialtofuturemasteryofatask,andskippingthisprocessby allowingAItoaidincompletionearlyoncanpreventthemastery ofthecoreskillstocompletethetaskaltogether.Similarto Kosmynaetal.AI-reliantskilldecayintask-basedskillsisevident onlywhentoolsareunavailable.Forthisreason,studentsmustbe shown,throughmeta-learning(learningaboutone’slearning),the rationaleforapproachinganewtaskwithouttheassistanceof artificialintelligence.Ifstudentsareneverrequiredtoperform thesetasksindependently,theymayneverreachthelevelof masteryrequiredwhenAItoolsareunavailable.Withoutthis understanding,studentsmaymistakeconvenienceforcompetence.
Artificialintelligencetoolshavenotyetreachedapoint wheretheycanfullyreplaceahumanexpertwithoutoversight,and oftenhallucinatefalsedata,producebiasedoutputs,oroutrightfail tocompleteagiventasktospecification.Untilartificialgeneral intelligencebecomesavailable,weshoulddemonstrateto adolescentsthatAIisatoolforhumansthatcannotandshouldnot replacehumanoversight.In2024,somehospitalshaveintroduced AIsoftwareforradiologiststohelpidentifytumorsormassesin mammograms.AnNBCNewsarticleincludestestimoniesfrom varioushealthcareprofessionalsaboutthisnewtechnology,with DrLisaAbramson,associateprofessorofradiologyatMount Sinai,stating,“[AIis]notgoingtoreplacethejobortheexpertise ofradiologists,”and“[is]onlygoingtoenhanceourabilityto detectmoreandmorebreastcancer”(Cohen).Workflowsthat
involvecollaborationbetweenhumansandAIareonlypossible whenhumanexpertsareinthelooptoevaluate,correct,and overridetheAI'soutput.Inprofessionalfields,thisexpertisestems fromyearsofunaidedtrainingandskilldevelopmentbeforethe introductionofAI-assistedworkflows.Adolescentsarestillinthe earlystagesoflearning,and,critically,theyarelearningnotjust oneparticularfieldbutmanycoreskillstopreparethemformany futurecareers.Ifstudentsbeginadoptinghybridworkflowstoo early,thebenefitsdisappearbecausethereisnoindependent humanexpertisetoevaluatetheAIoutputs.Thisreinforcesthe needforstudentstodevelopexpertisefirst,sothatAIremainsa toolratherthananauthority.
Artificialintelligencesystemsfunctionbyidentifying patternsinexistingdatasets,whichpresentsafundamental challengewhenconfrontedwithnovelproblemsforwhichno comparabledataexists.AsMacnamaraetal.note:“GiventhatAI needstobetrainedwithdata,humanexpertswithkeeninsightsare neededtosolvenovelproblems.Suchfieldswillbenefitby maintaininghumanexperts’skills”(4).Incontextssuchasthe emergenceofanewviruswithauniquepresentation,AIsystems cannotreplacehumanreasoningandjudgment,astheycannotlook beyondtheirtrainingdata.Thislimitationhasdirectimplications foradolescenteducation.Asstudentslearnthebasicskillsrequired tomakeinferencestosolvenovelproblems,studentswhobecome reliantonAIsystemsmaystruggletoidentifysolutionstocomplex problemsandtoapproachthem.Further,AIdatasetsarebuiltfrom humandata.Iffutureexpertsareunabletocontributetothese datasetsbecausetheyareunabletoclassifydataindependently,it couldcreateapositivefeedbackloopwherealackof human-classified,orevenmisclassified,datacancauseAItoolsto becomeincreasinglyoutdatedandunhelpfulovertime.This feedbacklooponlymakestheproblemworse:ifAIsystems
degradeduetoalackofreliabletrainingdata,studentswhorelyon AItoolslackanalternativelearningpathway.Withoutthe experiencetorecognizewhenAIiswrong,studentsmayaccept flawedoutputsandeventuallybeunabletoperformatthelevel requiredforacademicsuccess.Thisdynamichighlightsthe importanceofencouragingindependentlearningduring adolescence.Encouragingindependentlearningnowwillenhance thebenefitsofAItoolsasstudentsmature,whilereducingthe drawbackstoskilldevelopmentandinnovativeproblem-solving. Byeducatingstudentsontheimportanceofnovelproblem-solving andremindingstudentsthatAIcannotsolvenovelproblems,we canpreventthisfeedbackloopfrombecomingreality.
Thewaysweinteractwithartificialintelligenceoften mimichumaninteractions,butforadolescents,theseinteractions canposesignificantriskstotheirsocialandemotional development.Adolescentsareneurologicallyprimedtoseek approvalfromtheirpeersandconformtoperceivedsocialnorms (Sebastianetal.),sowhenadolescentsinteractwithAIchatbots, theyoftendonotperceivethechatasaninterfacebetween themselvesandthealgorithm,butratherasaconversationwith anotherentity(APA AI Advisory 3).Unliketraditionalsearch engines,AIsystemsproducespecific,confident,authoritative responsesthatoftenmimichumanmannerisms.Thisperceived confidencecanenhanceresponsequalityandreduceskepticism; however,itmayalsoincreasethelikelihoodthatsomeadolescents, whoareparticularlysusceptibletopeerpressure,willacceptthese outputswithoutfurtherscrutiny(CroneandKonijn7).In educationalsettings,thisbehaviortranslatesintostudents acceptingAI-generatedexplanationsandperspectiveswithout evaluatingtheirsources(whichmayormaynotbehallucinations), questioningassumptions,orengaginginindependentreasoning. Thecombinationofadolescents’heightenedsusceptibilitytopeer
pressureandtheconfidenttoneofAIagentssuggeststhat adolescentsmaybemorelikelytodeveloparelianceonAIthan otheragegroups.Thisdynamicbecomesespeciallyconcerning whenadolescentsseekaffirmationofopinions,values,orpersonal experiencesfromAIagents.Inascenariowhereanadolescent turnstoanAIagentduringamentalhealthcrisisorsuicidal ideation,theagentmayreinforcethosebeliefsratherthan challengethem,orfailtodirecttheusertowardother,more appropriateresources.Thissituationisnothypothetical:several wrongfuldeathcaseshavebeenfiledagainstAIcompanies, includingOpenAI,Google,andMicrosoft,bythefamiliesof teenagersandadultswhohavetakentheirownlives,withthe chatbotsreaffirmingideationsratherthanchallengingtheuserand directingthemtopropermentalhealthresources(Chatterjee, Collinsetal,MaeCzachor).Ultimately,theseeventsreflecthow adolescents'interactionswithAIcanleadthemtoabsorb misinformationorharmfulperspectiveswithoutresistance. Therefore,wemusteducatestudentstorecognizethatanAI agent’sconfidentdemeanordoesnotreflectthefactualcorrectness ofitsresponses,butrathertheprogrammingchosenbyitscreators.
Biasinartificialintelligenceisanimportantfactorto considerwhenevaluatinghowadolescentsuseandinteractwith thesetools.Largelanguagemodelsaretrainedonamountainof human-generatedcontent.Aswithanythinghuman,thesedatasets containsmallbutsignificantbiasesthatreflectthesocialnorms, structuralinequalities,andrepresentationalimbalancespresent withinthedata(Maguire).AlthoughAIoutputscanappearneutral, bothinpresentationandinfact,theirneutralityoftenmasksthese underlyingbiases.WhenAIoutputsarepresentedasneutral, studentsmayfailtonoticeanybiastheAIreinforcesandwillnot evaluateAIoutputsforbiasastheywouldforhuman-authored sources.Additionally,someAIsystemsrestrictaccesstocertain
information.Incontrast,othersamplifyextremeorideologically skewedcontent,dependingontheirtrainingdataandthecontent filtrationpoliciessetbytheircreators.IfstudentsturntoAIfor opinionwritingorethicalreasoning,theyriskflatteningtheirown perspectivesandmay,overtime,internalizesimilarpatternsofbias astheartificialintelligence.Withoutexplicitinstruction, adolescentswhorelyonAImaybecomeunabletodistinguish betweeninformedsynthesis,partialomission,andoutright distortion,skillsthatarebecomingincreasinglyimportantina digitallandscapefilledwithfactuallyinaccurateinformationmade todeceiveothers.Ultimately,thislackofawarenessundermines students’abilitytoassesscredibilityandweakenstheircapacityto engagethoughtfullywithcomplexorcontroversialissues.
Markedbyidentityformationandaheightenedsensitivity tosocialvalidation,adolescenceisatimewhenindividualsbegin tolearnmoreaboutthemselvesandhowothersseethem (RosenblumandLewis).Artificialintelligenceagentsare increasinglyadvertisedtoadolescentsseekingsocialoremotional connectiononline,posingsignificantchallengesforthelong-term developmentofsocialskills.Inanincreasinglydigitalworld, adolescentsareimmersedinalgorithmicallycuratedsocialmedia environments,wherefeedsaredesignedtodriveengagementwith theplatformandoftendisplayunrealisticstandardsthatprivilege certainbodies,lifestyles,andidentities(Giansiracusa, Shanmugasundaram5).Theseplatformsnormalizeconformityby presentingalgorithmicallyfavoredcontentasrepresentativeof socialreality,arealityoftenseparatefromthatpresentedtoother users(Giansiracusa).Muchlikesocialmedia,AIsystemsoperate withinengagement-drivenecosystems,offeringinteractive experiencesandsimulatedrelationsthatrespondinstantlyand affirmativelytouserinput.Unlikehumanpeers,AIagentsdonot introducedisagreement,socialconsequence,oranyotherformof
socialconflict,anessentialcomponenttohealthysocial development(APA AI Advisory 3).Asadolescentslearnto navigaterelationships,managerejection,andrefinetheiridentities throughinterpersonalinteractions,simulatedrelationshipsremove thesegrowthopportunitiesentirely,takingtheeasywayoutfor greatercomfortnowbutleavingindividualsunpreparedforfuture rejection.Additionally,simulatedinteractionswithAIlack reciprocityandaccountability,meaningadolescentsarenot requiredtoconsiderothers'perspectivesoradapttheirbehaviorin responsetosocialcues.Althoughadolescentsseekvalidationfrom rolemodelsandtheirpeergrouptoguidethemontherightpath, theremustbeabalancesothatappropriatevalidationdoesnot becomeoverlyprotective,andindividualscanpracticedealing withtherejectionthatmaycomefromrealrelationships(APA Helicopter Parenting).Tobestaddresstheserisks,wemustfocus lessonrestrictingaccesstothesetoolsandmoreonreshapinghow adolescentsunderstandandinterprettheseinteractions.If adolescentsarenottaughttorecognizethattheengagement, affirmation,andempathytheyexperiencewithchatbotsare simulatedtokeepthemusingtheservice,theymaybeginto conflatecomfortwithsupportandvalidationwithunderstanding. WemusteducatestudentsonhowandwhysomeAIsystemsare designedtosimulaterelationships,definewhatthese “relationships”are,andaddresstheharmsthatthesetoolscan have.Byreinforcingthedistinctionbetweensimulatedvalidation andrealhumanrelationships,wecanensurethatAIremainsatool ratherthananineffectivesubstituteforrealeducatorsand interactionsduringacriticalperiodofsocialandemotional development.
Afteroutliningthecognitiverisksassociatedwithuncritical AIuse,wecanconsiderhowbesttoutilizeAItoolstohelp studentsandteachersinnovelwayswhilemitigatingthe
aforementioneddrawbacks.ThecomparisonbyKosmynaetal. betweenAIuseanddruguseoffersinsightintoonepossible approachtoteachingstudentsaboutartificialintelligence. FollowingthelaunchofChatGPTinNovember2022,educators wereconcernedaboutthepotentialforAItofacilitatecheatingand renderhomeworkobsolete,leadingtoswift,butoftenineffective, crackdownsacrossnumerousschoolsuntilclearerboundaries couldbeestablished(Roose).Historically,abstinenceprograms suchasD.A.R.E.havefailedtoreducedrugusageamong adolescents,notbecausesubstanceusewasmisunderstood,but becausetheprogramassumedthatfeartacticswouldoverride curiosityandpeerpressure.Today,mostdrugeducationprograms intheU.S.haveshiftedawayfromabstinence-onlyfocused mindsets(thoughstillaprimaryfocus)bygivingstudents additionalresourcesforiftheyortheirfriendschoosetouse substances(GainesandCohen).ThishistoryisimportantforAI educationbecauseschoolsarerepeatingthesamemistakesand failingtoaddressstudents'curiosityaboutthesetools.Amore effectiveapproachforschoolsistoadoptharm-reduction frameworksthattreatAIasanactivepartofstudents’lives, academicorotherwise,ratherthananexternalthreattobe eliminated.Byeducatingstudentsearlyaboutthereliancethatcan developwhenAIreplacescriticalthinking,wecanhelpthem avoidthisdependenceandimprovetheirfutureacademicand professionaloutcomes.Whileaskingwhetherstudentsshouldor shouldnotuseAIisimportant,itshouldnotbetheonlyquestion; wemustalsoaskhow,when,andwhyAIshouldbeused.This approachshouldencouragetransparencybyholdingstudents accountabletodiscloseAIusewithoutfearofacademic persecution.WhenstudentsciteAI,instructorscanassessnotonly thefinalproductbutalsothestudent’sjudgmentinusingthetool, andcreatespacetocritiquehallucinationsoroversimplifications
presentinAI-generatedoutputs.ByteachingstudentsaboutAI’s prosandconswithoutlimitingaccess,studentscanexperiment withAIontheirownwithaninformedperspectiveonits shortcomingsanddevelopagreaterunderstandingofitsbenefits anddrawbacksthroughdirectexperience.
Althoughartificialintelligencethreatenshowstudentswill interactwithcritical-thinkingandanalysis-basedtasks,through deliberate,thoughtfulimplementationsofAIthatdonotdirectly impacthigher-levelexercises,wecanusethesenewtoolsto supportlearningratherthanreplaceit.Whenclassifyinglearning objectives,educatorsoftenturntoBloom’sTaxonomy.This frameworkcategorizescognitivetasksintoahierarchy,with “Remembering”atthebottomand“Evaluating”and“Creating”at thetop(CenterforTeachingInnovation).Critically,thesecognitive tasksatthetopofthepyramidaremostatriskofbeingreplacedby AI.ThroughthelensofBloom’sTaxonomy,newresearchhas emergedthatredefinesitinthecontextofartificialintelligence, primarilyintheformofidentifyingimplementationsofAIforeach levelofthehierarchyinconjunctionwithcognitivestudies.Inher study,Gonsalvesinitiallysurveyedgraduatestudentsabouttheir priorexperienceswithAI,andgavethemanassessmentof relevantcoursework.Atthesametime,theyrecordedanaudio diaryandsurveyedthemagainaftertheassessmentwascompleted (7-8).Usingtheresultsofthestudy,Gonsalvesidentifiesthemost appropriateusesofAIateachlevelofBloom’sTaxonomy,with examplesthatdescribeAIasahelpinghandratherthanasa substitutefordoingthework.Thisresearchemphasizesamore structureduseofAIathigherlevelsofthetaxonomy,witha greaterneedforskepticismandfact-checkingofAIoutputs(9,14). Whentranslatedtosecondaryeducation,thisrevisionreaffirms thatartificialintelligenceshouldbeusedforlower-leveltasks whileleavinghigher-orderthinkingtostudents.Itprovidesanew
opportunitytoaddressAIapplicationsforstudentsandteachers. Whencompletingthesehigher-orderobjectives,suchaswritingan analyticalessay,studentsoftenturntoAIforhelpbrainstorming ideas,whichoftenleadstounoriginalpaperslackingdepthand transformativeanalysis(Aletras17-19).Tobreakthistension,this paperproposesagradualapproachtoimplementingAIfor students.BygraduallyintroducingAIapplicationsforspecific tasks,studentsaregivenmoreimpactfulopportunitiestoobserve AIbias,understandwherethesetoolsstruggle,anddistinguish betweensummaryandanalysis.ThisapproachreframesAInotas ashortcutbutasatutorthatisjustasfallibleasanyhumantutor. Indoingso,secondaryeducationcancontinuetopreparestudents toengagecriticallywhileadaptingandintegratingnew technologies.
Thedebateoverartificialintelligenceineducationisnota simplebinarychoice.Currently,theintegrationofChatGPTinto studentworkflowshasbeenmostlyunguided,fosteringa dependencyforsomestudentsthathasthepotentialto(orhas alreadyledto)atotalerosionofcriticalthinkingskills.Although theadoptionofAItoolsisever-increasing,itisnottoolatetoteach studentshowbesttoleveragethem.Artificialintelligenceisnot inherentlyincompatiblewitheducation,norisitspresencein adolescentlearninginherentlyharmful.Themostimportant concernwheneducatorsaddressAIineducationishowAI’s designinteractswithaphaseofchildhooddevelopmentmarkedby cognitiveplasticity,identityformation,andincreasing independence.Adolescenceisaperiodinwhichhabitsofthinking, problem-solving,andsocialreasoningareactivelybeing constructed:processesthatarecrucialforstudentstohavesome masteryofwhentheyentertheadultworld.WhenAIsystemstake onthecognitiveeffortforstudents,theyalterhowstudentslearnto approachdifficulty,uncertainty,andrejection.Itcanbedifficultfor
studentstotellwhethertheyhavebecomeoverreliantonAItools, and,consequently,itisdifficulttobreakthisrelianceafteralonger period,asstudentshavebecomedependentonthetechnologyand useitasacrutchtomaintaintheskillsrequiredtoproceed academically.Unlikeearliereducationaltechnologies,which threatenedthefutureofhowstudentslearn(chiefamongthemthe calculatorandtheinternet),thecapabilitiesofartificialintelligence extendbeyondasinglesubjectandthreatenthecoreaspectsof educationitself,producingconfident,human-soundingresponses thatcanreplacethethinkingprocessentirely.Foradolescents, whosedevelopmentaltaskislearninghowtothinkindependently, thissubstitutioncarriesparticularweight.Tomany,thesolution seemsobvious:banAIcompletely,butthisresponsefailsto considerhowstudentswillrespondtoanoutrightbanorto acknowledgethat,atthispoint,AIisheretostay.Thischallenge, then,isnotwhetherAIbelongsbutfindingwaystouseAI beneficiallyintheclassroom,mitigatingitsdrawbacks,and educatingadolescentsaboutthecapabilitiesofartificial intelligence.Hence,theyarebetterequippedtobecomeadultsina worldwhereintelligentmachinesareunavoidable.
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