University of Minnesota report warns student AI use poses 'severe' threat to learning

MPR News reports that learning scientists surveyed experts about AI for the study and found there is a dearth of high-quality research on how artificial intelligence affects learning.[1]The university's College of Education and Human Development says that 30 learning scientists and educational researchers[2] were asked about K-12 and higher education, and that they identified 65 learning processes GenAI can affect and rated how much GenAI could disrupt or enhance each one. Consensus was reached on 42 of the 65 processes.[2]According to MPR News, experts widely agreed that introducing AI to students in certain contexts could cause "severe and one-sided" disruption to critical aspects of learning.[1] The report's authors wrote that "casual, careless use of general-purpose GenAI can threaten the very learning processes necessary for committing new ideas to memory."[1]The college's summary of the report states that "true learning takes time and effort—two things GenAI tools are designed to reduce."[2]Lead author Panayiota Kendeou told the university that the report found AI's greatest promise lies in supporting activities such as practicing what students have learned, receiving feedback, exploring examples and checking their understanding.[3] She also said that "relying too heavily on AI may reduce these opportunities"[3] for students to learn with classmates and teachers.Kendeou told MPR News that "with AI in education, we cannot afford to get it wrong."[1] She told the university that schools should "make thoughtful, age-appropriate decisions grounded in how students actually learn."[3]