Why students need to read before they use AI
The article argues that the reliance on AI tools for academic assignments is undermining students' ability to engage deeply with complex texts. It suggests that reading is a foundational skill that cannot be replaced by AI-generated summaries.
Why it matters
It addresses the growing concern regarding the impact of generative AI on cognitive development and the quality of modern education.
W hen 13-year-old Riya was assigned a short story to read as part of an assignment, she photographed the page, fed it to an AI, read the summary in 40 seconds, wrote her paragraph, and went to bed. She never
The companies building AI tools for education are not lying when they say their products open up learning. A child in a village with no books, no coaching centre, no college-educated parent can now have a difficult concept explained at midnight with more patience than any teacher exhausted by 40 students can manage. That matters enormously. But giving a child access to answers is not the same as building a mind that knows what to do with them. The AI industry has very little incentive to explain that difference.
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