Google’s aggressive AI push in schools has caused many students to become “academically and emotionally dependent” on the technology – and some say it’s contributed to a plunge in grades and test scores, according to an alarming report.
Kids are increasingly reliant on features like Google’s AI-assisted search to solve problems, answer questions and write essays – to the detriment of their learning, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing interviews with “more than 60 teachers, school officials, parents, children and clinicians.”
Richard Scott, a Pennsylvania-based eighth grader, told the Journal that he became so reliant on AI to complete his classwork that his grades suffered in situations where he didn’t have access – such as during tests.
“It slowed my thinking down,” the middle-schooler was quoted as saying. “When I was in a test and I couldn’t use AI, it was hard to think.”
Google has continued pushing its AI software – which comes preloaded on Chromebook laptops supplied to schools – despite the fact that its own researchers have warned kids are particularly at risk for mental and emotional harm, according to the Journal.
The newspaper said it interviewed current and former Google employees about the problem and reviewed more than a dozen Google research papers on how AI affected students.
“We’re doing this experiment on an entire generation on cognitive development, with no control group,” ex-Google research scientist Mikel Rodriguez, who left the company last year, told the Journal.
The rise in AI, which is now readily available on computers and smartphones, is a factor in a worldwide decline in reading scores, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which conducted a global survey of 760,000 15-year-olds in 91 countries.
Student test scores were found to be at their lowest average in 25 years.
In the US, test scores were down 14 points compared to 2022, when the survey was last conducted, the Journal reported.
Meanwhile, students who admitted using AI tools daily to help with their school reported scores on science tests that were 20 points lower than students who reported never using AI.
A Google spokeswoman said the company’s internal studies show that AI tools are a useful supplement to the traditional teacher-led classroom experience.
“Teachers around the world use our technology every day because it solves real classroom challenges and helps improve learning outcomes,” the spokeswoman added.
The Journal spoke to an art-history teacher in Miami who expressed shock over how many students have failed their AP exam. Her school district had recently given high school-age students access to Google’s Gemini AI chatbot.
“I had kids come to class after saying, ‘Miss, I had no clue what half the material was, I’m not going to lie to you. I’ve been using AI all year,’” the teacher, Kaitlyn Ruano, told the outlet.
The problem isn’t limited to Google, according to the report. Teachers and parents who spoke to the outlet pointed to OpenAI’s ChatGPT as another popular tool with students.
However, Google has more of a foothold in schools because it has actively tried to build ties with the education system.
Google says it provides educational software to more than 170 million students and teachers around the world. The Big Tech giant also maintains a network of more than 6,000 teacher “influencers” who are “certified” in using Google’s tools to enhance their teaching, according to the Journal.