Standford Researchers have warned that delegating mental work to artificial intelligence (AI) could hamper students’ creative problem-solving abilities and learning resilience.
In a recent report, the researchers highlighted the risks of cognitive offloading, a process in which people reduce mental effort by relying on external tools. Unlike conventional tools such as calculators, AI has the ability to take over (offload) entire job rather than simply assists with specific steps.
“If I can completely delegate a task to AI and I never spend time thinking about it, then there’s no learning,” said Guilherme Lichand, an assistant professor at Stanford Graduate School of Education.
To examine the impact of cognitive offloading, Lichand and predoctoral fellow Sachin Allums studied Brazilian middle-school students. They divided the students into four groups with different levels of access to an AI tool and asked them to complete two creative tasks.
The findings showed that students who used AI for the first task and subsequently lost access to it performed worse creatively than students who had never used the tool. Researchers said greater reliance on AI could hinder students’ ability to transfer learning and solve problems independently.
Fesler and her team also reviewed more than 800 papers on AI in education, focusing on 20 high-quality causal studies. The review found that generative AI tool new information showed lower recall and lower brain activity compared to learners who weren’t using.
However, researchers said AI in US schools could also support learning when designed to guide students rather than provide ready-made answers. Tools using Socratic questioning, offering feedback on essays and encouraging students to create and experiment could help learners engage more actively with educational material. It showed that the most detrimental tools were general-purpose chatbots.
“[AI] has the potential to both improve and harm learning outcomes. The difference likely comes down to the type of tool that’s being used, said Lily Fesler, Senior Research Associate, SCALE Initiative.
The researchers stressed that AI technology has advanced faster than the available evidence on AI tools and their impact on learning and creative thinking. They called for further research and deliberate implementation, with intentional safeguards to ensure that users can still benefit from the learning process.
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