Common arguments in favour of AI
AI proponents' claims and rebuttals to them.
There are some common justifications for putting "AI" into classrooms, and rebuttals to them.
"AI is just a tool"
AI is a service
Proponents of AI often say "AI is just a tool, it doesn't have good or bad effects" or "AI is a tool, students must learn how to use it."
AI is more accurately described as a service.
When ordering food at a restaurant, the restaurant is not a "tool" used to cook a meal. It is a service that offloads the time, effort and skill to prepare a meal.
Generative AI provides the service of offloading the time, effort and skill it takes to write a document, create a picture, or think up new ideas.
Arguing that students must learn how to use AI because it is a "tool", is the same as arguing that apprentice chefs must spend time learning how to use restaurants.
"Kids are using AI anyway. Putting it in the classroom gives teachers oversight."
Giving in to cheating
This frames cheating using AI is inevitable. Essay-writing services have existed for decades but inviting their use into classrooms was never considered.
"People were skeptical of the calculator"
Technologies should be individually evaluated before use in classrooms
Generative AI chatbots behave closer to cell phones and social media than calculators. They produce addictive, flashy short-form information that keeps kids "engaged" but with little educational value.
When the negative effects of smart phones and social media were understood, their use in classrooms was restricted.
No matter the hype, educators and parents should critically evaluate new technologies before putting them into classrooms.
"Students must learn to critically evaluate AI output"
Students cannot critique what they don't know
"Generative AI" products frequently generate statements that are untrue (so-called "hallucination").
Proponents of AI try to reframe this problem by saying that students should "critically evaluate" the outputs of AI products.
If a student is learning about something for the first time, it is not possible for them to evaluate whether the product's output is true or false.
"AI is the future, students must learn how to use it"
"Students need AI literacy"
Using AI has negative impacts on learning
Putting AI into classrooms is often framed as encouraging "AI literacy". This argument frames AI products as simply another tool that children should learn to use.
However, peer-reviewed studies show that using AI has negative impacts on learning (Kosmyna et al. 2025, Lehmann et al. 2025) and critical thinking (Lee et al. 2025). Even in adults, when professionals rely on AI tools they lose skills.
Students definitely need to know what "AI" is. Students could learn this in a single class where they learn how AI works, its strengths and weaknesses. That is different from recommending its use in every class.
"Literacy" is never defined when talking about AI. When AI proponents talk about literacy, which do they mean?
- Getting used to the interface of the in-school AI product?
- Understanding the theory of how the technology works?
- Being able to modify existing AI systems?
- Being able to create new AI systems?
It's not clear which one is being talked about when schools talk about "AI literacy". Learning how to use AI takes 5 minutes and could be taught when starting a job. Learning how to create AI systems is a college-level computer science class.
"Adults use it for..."
Producing results and learning are different things
Some adults who use "AI" advocate for students doing the same.
Something designed for
Many adults who use "AI" products still support a 2-year moratorium in schools because of concerns that "AI" stunts learning and emotional growth in young people. Moreover, many adults who tried "AI" initially are now moving away from it. Some found that it wasn't as useful or efficient as their boss told them it was going to be; others are concerned that it moves power from communities toward billionaires.
"This particular classroom AI has safety measures"
Generative AI is inherently uncontrollable
SchoolAI, Microsoft and other companies that market to schools are aware that chatbots have "talked" to young children about sexual topics and encouraged children to commit suicide.
They reassure parents that their products are safer than others.
However because generative AI is based on natural language, telling the product "don't talk about sexual topics" is just a suggestion and can be broken.
"AI is used for cutting-edge research, so it is important for children to use it in classrooms"
"AI" used in science is vastly different from the chatbots deployed in schools.
Scientists sometimes make "AI" models to classify images based on a training dataset of similar images. They carefully curate their training datasets and evaluate model performance in peer-reviewed studies. In contrast, chatbots used in schools are commercial products trained on the whole internet. They are designed to generate believable text that mimics human language and captures people's attention.
"Text- and image-generation tools enhance creativity"
Shortcuts deny students opportunities to learn
Drawing, designing and writing are difficult skills that take thousands of hours of practice. What improves creativity is reflection, diffused thinking, research and making unusual cross-disciplinary connections.
Encouraging students to use these products denies them the learning opportunities that come with trying, struggling and improving.
"AI increases engagement"
Chatbots are addictive
AI companies are quick to point out how engaging their AI products are. They do this because studies have shown that products like ChatGPT are terrible for learning and retention.
The interactive, snappy way of engaging with chatbots decreases attention spans and comprehension ability.
The final point
There are doubtless more arguments that are made in favour of deploying AI into classrooms.
However, there is one fundamental question that should be at the heart of any discussion:
Does putting AI in classrooms help students?
- Do they retain what they learn?
- Do they feel proud of what they make?
- Does it help them with emotional growth and resilience?
- Does AI prevent them from developing important human skills?