Labour's AI plans for schools risk creating ‘cardboard cutout' students

Telegraph

9 hours ago

Labour's plans to rapidly roll out artificial intelligence in schools risks creating a generation of 'cardboard cutout' students, the Tories have warned.
Laura Trott, the shadow education secretary, said that a switch to computer learning could dumb down academic standards.
Writing for The Telegraph, she said the growing use of ChatGPT, which can solve maths sums and write essays, was 'dangerous'.
Her intervention comes after a study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US found that relying on AI programs eroded students' ability to think critically.
Labour has unveiled plans to roll out the technology across schools, allowing it to draw up lesson plans and even mark homework.
Ministers say that doing so will free up teachers to spend more time in the classroom helping their pupils rather than being bogged down in paperwork.
Ms Trott said: 'If we ease teachers' workloads by embracing this technology without caution, we risk crushing critical thinking underfoot.
'It's a dangerous trade-off and only incentivises young people to use AI tools as a crutch.'
The MIT study found that human graders consistently marked down AI written essays for their lack of originality and independent thought.
But when AI programs were presented with the same work they awarded it higher marks.
Ms Trott said the Government needed to wake up to the dangers of the technology and act to curb its growing use before 'the horse has bolted'.
'If we let AI flatten thinking, we'll end up with cardboard cutouts, everyone sounding the same, thinking the same,' she added.
'If vast numbers of students lean on chatbots to write, research, and code for them, what remains of traditional education?
'We must demand education policies that protect and foster true thinking, not just tech-enabled shortcuts.'
It comes amid efforts to roll out a new 'quality mark' for schools who can demonstrate that they are using AI in a responsible way.
The Good Future Foundation, a UK-based non-profit organisation, has developed the scheme, which it is hoping to roll out to hundreds of schools.
Daniel Emmerson, its executive director, said: 'The potential for AI to make a positive impact is staggering, but the implications of irresponsible use are significant.
'The Government has already outlined how vital AI can be to the future of education in Britain.
'It is vital that our educators are given the support they need to understand and implement this technology in the classroom to confidently prepare all students to benefit from and succeed in an AI-infused world.'
We risk starving children of the ability to think critically
By Laura Trott
We've been here before. In the 1950s, it took years for society to wake up to the dangers of smoking, despite the growing evidence and rising public concern. Big Tobacco denied the harms, resisted regulation, and continued to profit while young people bore the consequences. Today we are facing an eerily similar moment with smartphones and social media.
Technologies that have transformed modern life are quietly eroding childhood, fuelling mental health problems, destroying educational attainment, and fostering dependency by design. The new beast is Big Tech. The question is not whether these harms exist, but how long we are prepared to look the other way.
This is not about burying our heads in the sand. Technology has undeniable benefits. During Covid, when schools were closed, digital tools kept learning alive. But 'alive' is not the same as thriving. Many children fell behind, and many more are still struggling. Technology offered a lifeline, but a fragile one.
Now, a new threat is emerging. ChatGPT is everywhere. University libraries report it as the most common program open on students' laptops. Yet a recent MIT study should alarm us all.
Students who used ChatGPT to write essays sounded shockingly alike, with the same phrases and the same logic. Human graders marked down these AI-generated essays for their lack of originality. Meanwhile, AI scoring systems rewarded them. If we ease teachers' workloads by embracing this technology without caution, we risk crushing critical thinking underfoot. It's a dangerous trade-off and only incentivises young people to use AI tools as a crutch. The study's findings are stark. Brain scans revealed that using AI tools reduces activity in regions responsible for learning and memory by up to 55 per cent.
Students relying on AI struggled to recall what they'd written and performed worse without it. Their brains seem to essentially be switched off. The danger isn't just laziness, it's the erosion of independent and critical thought that builds knowledge. Researchers of the study warned that the findings 'raised concerns about the long-term educational implications' of using AI both in schools and in the workplace.
This evidence is clear to see – just look at Sweden. After pushing digital learning since 2018, it is now reversing course, unpicking some of the damage it believes technology embedded into learning has caused. Research showed students learned better with printed textbooks and pen and paper. Those physical tools improve comprehension and memory. The policymakers overlooked one truth: young children still need old-fashioned practice to master reading and writing.
We risk locking the stable door after the horse has bolted. If vast numbers of students lean on chatbots to write, research, and code for them, what remains of traditional education? We risk starving children of their ability to think independently and critically.
We must remember what makes us human. Creativity, individual thought, intellectual curiosity. If we let AI flatten thinking, we'll end up with cardboard cutouts, everyone sounding the same, thinking the same. This soil cannot nurture the Shakespeares or JK Rowlings of tomorrow. That loss is tragic. It's time to act. We must demand education policies that protect and foster true thinking, not just tech-enabled shortcuts. Because the future depends on minds, not machines.