Education Concern: Growing Use of AI by Students up to Class 8. Is it Affecting Intellectual Capabilities?
The Threat of Superficial Knowledge: 'Copy-Paste' Tendency from AI Stifles Originality
Tech News, 28 November 2025: The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools by students at the school level, especially up to Class 8, has increased rapidly. Students are relying on AI for subject-related content, answers to questions, and project materials. This trend has sparked a profound concern among educators and parents: could this dependency negatively impact children’s fundamental intellectual capabilities, problem-solving skills, and creativity?
Key Concerns of Educators and Parents
Experts believe that excessive or improper use of AI could be detrimental to the children’s learning process:
- Decline in Problem-Solving Skills: When AI provides ready-made solutions instantly, children don’t need to engage in reasoning and deep effort to solve complex problems themselves. This can stunt the development of their critical thinking and problem-solving abilities.
- Superficial Knowledge: By copying content generated by AI, children may miss out on a deep understanding of the subject matter. The essential element of ‘struggle’ and ‘discovery’ required in the learning process is eliminated.
- Lack of Creativity and Originality: Over-reliance on AI’s often ‘average’ responses can weaken the students’ ability to develop their own original ideas, unique writing style, and overall creativity.
- Blind Trust in Accuracy: Children might accept AI-generated answers as the absolute truth without any verification. This hinders the development of the critical habit of cross-checking information.
AI: A Collaborator
However, educational experts argue that AI should not be viewed solely as a threat. If utilized correctly, it can be a powerful educational collaboration tool:
- Personalized Tutoring: AI can act as a virtual tutor, explaining difficult concepts in simpler terms, tailored to the student’s pace and learning style.
- Instant Doubt Clearance: Immediate clarification of doubts prevents interruptions, keeping the learning process seamless and engaging.
- Aids in Drafting and Editing: Students can use AI not for generating answers outright, but for organizing their thoughts, refining writing drafts, and correcting grammatical errors.
Conclusion: Impact Depends on Usage
Educators emphasize that the effect of AI on children’s intellectual capabilities depends entirely on the nature of its use.
It is the responsibility of teachers and parents to guide children to use AI not for ‘copy-pasting’ the final output, but as a tool to ‘enhance the learning process’. Children should be encouraged to ask AI ‘why’ and ‘how’ rather than just ‘what’, thereby strengthening their critical thinking and logical abilities.
AI is not a replacement for education; it is a tool whose judicious use can broaden the scope of a child’s knowledge.
Senior Educationist and Psychologist, Dr. Himanshu Shekhar, believes that the reliance of young children on AI will definitely affect their abilities to think and comprehend. However, it depends on the tasks for which the AI is being used. Are they directly copying and pasting the answers received from the AI? Are they looking for simple solutions to overcome the complexity of a subject while studying? Are they working on specific ideas, or are they just taking the help of AI to complete a study-related task? He is of the view that understanding AI is the need of the hour. Dr. Shekhar says that it is not right to directly trust AI. You should also confirm the content from various reliable sources. Dr. Shekhar considers the role of teachers to be extremely important in guiding children on the methods of using AI.
