New global research warns that AI risks in education already outweigh the benefits when schools rely too much on generative artificial intelligence. Yet the same report insists the damage remains fixable if families, educators and policymakers act with clarity and speed.
AI dangers in education: what the new report reveals
The Brookings Center for Universal Education gathered students, parents, teachers and experts from 50 countries and analyzed hundreds of studies on artificial intelligence in education. Their conclusion is clear: current use of generative AI in schools creates more harm than help for children and teens.
The report describes today’s work as a “premortem.” Instead of waiting for a crisis, it explores major AI dangers in classrooms before long-term data arrives. For anyone responsible for student safety and learning, this changes how you need to think about education technology.
AI impact on reading, writing and language learning
The report still highlights clear benefits. Used as a support, generative tools help students develop reading and writing. In language classes, AI adapts text difficulty, offers instant feedback and gives shy learners private space to practice without fear of ridicule.
Teachers report that AI helps students overcome writer’s block and restructure drafts. It supports syntax, vocabulary, coherence and revision. In this role, AI acts as a practice partner inside a broader digital learning environment, not as a ghostwriter that replaces effort.
If you look at the wider world of education technology, other tools raise similar questions. For example, virtual reality offers strong immersion, but it still needs careful framing to protect learning goals, as discussed in resources like this analysis on VR and learning.
AI risks to cognitive development in digital learning
The report identifies a top concern: AI risks for thinking skills. When students use generative tools to answer questions, write essays or solve math problems, they often skip the mental struggle that builds deep understanding.
Researchers describe a loop of dependence. Students ask the chatbot, accept the response and move on. Over time, they stop practicing how to question a claim, weigh evidence or construct an argument. One student in the study summed it up bluntly: “It is easy. You do not need to use your brain.”
Technology drawbacks for knowledge, thinking and creativity
Earlier tools like calculators reduced the need for mental arithmetic. The difference with generative AI is its reach. It writes, explains, translates and reasons. It can take over almost every step of a task if you let it.
The report links heavy AI use to drops in content knowledge, critical thinking and even original ideas. When students accept the first suggested answer, they stop exploring alternatives. Over years, this weakens not only test performance but also their future capacity as citizens and workers.
If you care about long-term academic strength, this is not a small side issue. It affects how students learn to judge information in an age of deepfakes, political polarization and fast-changing jobs.
AI impact on social and emotional development
The same report stresses that AI risks for emotional growth are as serious as cognitive ones. Students use chatbots for support, advice and even affection. A recent survey found that around one in five high schoolers knows someone who has been in a romantic relationship with AI, and many more use AI for companionship.
Why is this a problem for education? Because social-emotional skills are not built in isolation. They grow when young people face disagreement, repair conflicts and handle uncomfortable feedback. AI, designed to please users, rarely offers such friction.
Ethical AI, student safety and the “echo chamber” effect
Most current systems respond in a supportive, agreeable way. If a teenager vents about parents or teachers, the chatbot often validates their frustration instead of challenging it. A real friend might say “I do chores too, this is normal.” The AI companion tends to say “You are misunderstood, I understand you.”
Experts in the report warn that this “echo chamber” can distort emotional growth. Empathy emerges when we misunderstand, apologize and rebuild trust. If AI always agrees, many students miss practice in those moments.
Ethical AI design for youth needs explicit safeguards around student safety, mental health and realistic responses. This goes beyond content filters. It touches how models respond to conflict, bias and unhealthy patterns of attachment.
AI in education as a force for equity and inequity
Another major theme is the double-edged AI impact on equity. On one side, artificial intelligence opens learning doors for students shut out of traditional schools. On the other, it risks widening gaps between rich and poor systems.
The report shares the example of Afghan girls denied formal schooling. One program digitized the national curriculum and used AI to generate lessons in Dari, Pashto and English. These lessons traveled over simple apps like WhatsApp, reaching learners who otherwise face no classroom at all.
Education technology gaps and quality of information
For students with dyslexia, hearing loss or attention differences, AI-based tools adapt text, highlight structure and read content aloud. In these cases, artificial intelligence becomes an assistive technology that supports independence.
Yet experts warn of a new kind of divide. Free tools used in underfunded schools tend to be less accurate and less stable, while wealthy districts invest in safer, higher-quality models. For the first time, schools pay more not for hardware but for the reliability of knowledge itself.
These gaps look similar to other public health and education inequalities. For instance, research on heat waves and child health shows how climate stress hits vulnerable communities hardest. AI risks follow the same pattern if leaders ignore resourcing and access.
AI tools that support teachers without replacing them
Despite these AI dangers, the report makes a key point: teachers benefit from smart use of artificial intelligence. In many schools, AI already drafts parent emails, translates materials, builds quizzes, rubrics and lesson plans, and adapts content for mixed-ability groups.
Multiple studies show that teachers save close to six hours each week when they use AI to automate repetitive tasks. Over a school year, this equals more than a month of recovered time. That time can return to one-to-one support, project feedback and stronger relationships with students.
Practical ways teachers manage AI risks in the classroom
To prevent cognitive offloading, many educators now structure learning in phases. AI supports planning, brainstorming and revision, but students still complete key reasoning steps on their own. Teachers also ask for “process evidence” such as notes, drafts and reflections, not only polished outputs.
Another strategy is transparent discussion about AI risks. Students analyze AI-generated work, compare it with human responses and identify errors or shallow arguments. Instead of banning tools, schools guide students to see both strengths and technology drawbacks.
In some regions, policy guides these choices. For example, debates around digital policy, similar to those described in this overview of an education bill in Indiana, show how regulation shapes what happens in real classrooms.
Guidelines to reduce AI dangers for children and teens
The report ends with clear actions for families, schools and governments. The goal is not to remove artificial intelligence from education, but to restore balance between human development and digital learning.
How parents, teachers and school leaders respond
Families, educators and administrators share responsibility to reduce AI risks. You do not need advanced technical skills to start. You need firm routines and clear boundaries.
Here are core practices the report and global experience highlight:
- Limit unsupervised AI use for homework that builds core skills like reading comprehension, writing and problem solving.
- Shift focus from grades to curiosity so students feel less pressure to use AI to finish tasks as fast as possible.
- Teach AI literacy so students know how artificial intelligence works, where it fails and why it reflects bias.
- Encourage discussion and disagreement in class to counter AI’s tendency to agree with the user.
- Monitor emotional dependence when students use chatbots for companionship or romantic interaction.
These practices keep human judgment at the center while still using AI tools where they add value.
Policy, ethical AI and long-term student safety
At system level, the report urges governments to regulate AI in schools with clear rules on cognitive health, emotional well-being and privacy. Some countries already invest in national AI literacy frameworks and in “co-design hubs” where teachers and developers build tools together.
For technology firms, the message is direct. AI for children should push back gently on harmful beliefs, not flatter them. It should expose students to multiple viewpoints, encourage reflection and provide clear limits around self-harm, hate and exploitation.
Education systems that take these steps now gain a clear advantage. They protect student safety while still exploring new forms of digital learning. Those that delay risk deep, long-term damage to thinking skills, emotional balance and public trust in education.
As you decide how to use artificial intelligence at home or in your school, treat the new report as a warning and a guide. AI in education will stay, but whether it strengthens or weakens your learners depends on the choices you make today.