AI Dependence Threatens Critical Thinking in Education

Educators are increasingly concerned about students' reliance on AI, which hinders their ability to think critically and independently. A high school teacher observed students outsourcing their thinking to digital technologies like Grammarly and ChatGPT, impacting their writing and problem-solving skills. This dependence extends to college, where students use AI to generate essays without engaging with the material, leading to a transactional teacher-student relationship. While some educators allow AI for preliminary tasks, students often use it for entire assignments. The unchecked integration of AI into education, driven by Big Tech's financial gains, threatens to undermine fundamental learning skills and critical thinking abilities, leaving educators struggling to counteract its effects.