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Politico
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Politico
AI in the classroom takes off with no guardrails
The push to prepare kids for the AI future is raising tricky ethical questions about how to bring the technology into the classroom. At stake: AI can make teaching more effective and prepare the next generation's workers, but there are mounting concerns over its impact on kids' emotional health and development. Getting AI into schools is such an imperative that President Donald Trump issued an executive order in April to promote AI literacy in schools, focusing particularly on K-12 students. The issue of AI in schools even became a meme after Education Secretary Linda McMahon mistakenly called the tech 'A1' – the steak sauce brand – in a gaffe. The conversation over the merits of AI in education is happening as the technology rapidly makes its way into school districts. A Gallup poll released Wednesday reports that more than a quarter of K-12 teachers already have their students using AI learning systems. The breakneck speed of adoption is even concerning proponents of the technology. 'Are we essentially condoning and accelerating our path towards this world where students are just starved of human interaction?' said Alex Kotran, who has introduced AI into hundreds of schools as CEO of The AI Education Project, a nonprofit funded by the likes of OpenAI and Nvidia. 'By foisting more AI companions on them in the form of, let's say, AI tutors, do we normalize it?' Early research shows that AI has a lot to offer for schooling. A 2023 study found the technology can provide students with more tailored instruction and feedback, and the United Nations suggested in 2021 that AI chatbots could be a 24/7 personalized educational resource for students when teachers are off the clock. It was in that positive spirit that Trump issued an April executive order to increase AI in the classroom. The order created an Artificial Intelligence Education Task Force assigned to establish plans for a nationwide 'challenge' highlighting applications of AI in schools by July, and to identify federal AI resources to support state educational agencies. The order also sets July deadlines for the Department of Education to set grant guidelines for providing AI resources to students. The White House said that with the order, 'we can ensure that every American has the opportunity to learn about AI from the earliest stages of their educational journey.' It came as some of the country's largest public school districts – including those in Miami, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia – have moved to introduce AI chatbots to their K-12 students. At the same time, evidence is emerging that AI could wreak havoc on a young person's mental health. The American Psychological Association warned in a health advisory that AI may impair adolescents' ability to distinguish between human and simulated empathy, and affect their real-world relationships. Several high-profile lawsuits also accuse AI chatbots of leading kids to harm themselves, including a case alleging that a 14-year-old boy died by suicide as a result of his relationship with a bot. Sam Hiner, who is developing an autonomous math tutor as the founder of the AI company EdEngage, told DFD it's important that AI educational programs don't say they're proud of a student or otherwise emulate humans. 'You're attributing an emotional state to the AI that the user is going to naturally want to build a connection with, especially if you're a child and your brain is still developing,' said Hiner, who also co-founded the kids advocacy group Young People's Alliance that has pushed for restrictions on minors' access to AI. He said he worried that connections with AI may supplant those with teachers, a foundational relationship for students' well-being. Robbie Torney, a director of Common Sense Media's AI education programs, adds that the technology's mental health risks can vary depending on the age of the student. 'The risk of parasocial relationships with technology … do tend to increase as kids get younger,' said Torney, pointing to a study showing that children between the ages of 5 and 7 are more likely to form emotional attachments to smart speakers. Neither the Department of Education nor the White House's Artificial Intelligence Education Task Force responded to DFD's inquiries about their progress on carrying out the executive order and whether they were seeking to mitigate safety risks. Torney notes that many schools may be unprepared to safely manage federally supported AI adoption. Eighty percent of educators say their districts do not have policies for responsible use of the technology. 'That means the districts or schools haven't necessarily conducted AI assessments for thinking about how it's actually being used,' he said. Such policies could be crucial, given the AI education sector itself is largely unregulated. Forbes reported that some of the most popular and highly valued AI tutors generated unhealthy diet advice for teens and pick-up artist tips. The AI Education Project's Kotran said that, absent regulation, there's no 'top-down' way to ensure that schools are minimizing safety risks when procuring AI tools. 'It's still the Wild West,' he said. 'Each district is figuring this out for themselves.' Government workers are slowly warming to AI American government employees are notably more bearish on AI than the global average for all professionals, according to results from a 2,275-person survey Thomson Reuters published Thursday. In an interview with DFD, Reuters CEO Steve Hasker highlighted the disparity as being particularly noteworthy: While 80 percent of respondents overall thought AI would have a transformative impact on their work over the next five years, only 64 percent of U.S. government employees agreed. Hasker partly attributed the gap to private companies having more obvious metrics for measuring the success of their AI applications, such as revenue. 'The impact of AI on commercial enterprises, in terms of efficiency and effectiveness, is probably better understood than the impact on mission-driven organizations,' he told DFD. However, Hasker asserted that AI's impact on processing backlogs of court cases and immigration applications could be a good starting place for governments to measure the effectiveness of the technology. 'There is a push for greater tech adoption to drive efficiency and to get a better return from taxpayers' dollars,' he said. To be sure, these employees aren't completely resistant to AI. Reuters provided additional data to DFD showing that only 1 percent of U.S. government workers believe their department is adopting AI too quickly – 63 percent are satisfied with the current speed, while 36 percent think it is too slow. Labor's fights with big tech are heating up Three bills in California are setting the stage for a showdown between tech companies and workers this summer, our colleagues at POLITICO's California Decoded report. Major labor groups like the Service Employees International Union squared off this week with Silicon Valley lobbyists in making their case on the issues to the state's labor committees. Two of the bills concern the use of technology in the workplace. Introduced in February, SB442 sets staffing levels for stores that have self-checkout. The kiosks have been promoted as a way to cut down on labor costs, but unions argue this hasn't led to lower prices for consumer products. Another bill, SB7, limits employers' ability to use tracking systems to monitor their workers. The third bill, AB1340, would give gig economy drivers collective bargaining rights. The Decoded team notes that labor groups have generally been successful in pushing for legislation this year, but that Big Tech still has plenty of opportunities to shut such efforts down. The gig economy bill is a reminder of a fight over a law California passed in 2019, which partly classified rideshare and delivery drivers as employees rather than independent contractors. Tech industry groups poured more than $200 million to pass a proposition that ultimately eroded it a year later. post of the day THE FUTURE IN 5 LINKS Stay in touch with the whole team: Aaron Mak (amak@ Mohar Chatterjee (mchatterjee@ Steve Heuser (sheuser@ Nate Robson (nrobson@ and Daniella Cheslow (dcheslow@
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
AI Makes Quick Gains in Math, But Errors Still Worry Some Eyeing Reliability
While artificial intelligence has made remarkable gains in mathematics, its well-chronicled shortcomings in the subject continue to frustrate those keen on finding new ways to help kids learn. 'Big picture, AI is not very good at math,' said Alex Kotran, co-founder and CEO of The AI Education Project. 'Language models just predict the next word. You get mixed results using language models to do math. It's not yet mature enough to where it can be trusted to be scaled.' And even if it were to improve, critics worry it might hurt kids' ability to try — and fail — on their own. Much would be lost, Kotran said, if 'we get rid of productive struggle and we build this instinct where the first thing you do is go to AI for help.' Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter But students in the United States and the United Kingdom have a different view. A recent survey found 56% believe AI could go a long way in reducing math anxiety. Fifteen percent of the 1,500 16- to 18-year-old students surveyed said they had already experienced this relief themselves and slightly more than 1 in 5 said their math scores improved because of the technology. Related The survey also included 250 teachers. Sixty-one percent suggested students view AI as 'a mentor or study partner rather than a crutch', while nearly half 'see value for students in using AI for help with the process of learning math concepts, rather than to give answers.' Nicole Paxton, principal of Mountain Vista Community School in Colorado Springs, said her teachers use AI in many ways. Tools like MagicSchoolAI analyze student responses to math prompts, with AI generating 'specific, standards-aligned feedback for each student, focusing on their reasoning, accuracy, and math vocabulary.' Paxton said the tool highlights strengths and misconceptions, 'which helps teachers give timely and targeted next steps.' The practice saves educators time so they can 'more easily differentiate their re-teaching or follow-up, especially when addressing common errors across the class.' Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, recently looked at the evidence base for using AI in math instruction, including whether it can help the 'shocking number of students' with foundational skills' gaps like those identified in a recent 'Unlocking Algebra' study. The May 13 analysis by TNTP found that almost half of the students sampled started the class with only one-third of the concepts and skills needed from earlier grades. Lake said AI can be used by schools to identify children who are struggling — and, at least to some degree, by the students themselves. 'AI can be very helpful in analyzing data and identifying gaps in student learning,' she said. And, if a student wants to learn a mathematical concept in a different way than what they've experienced in class, she said, AI can provide a valuable alternative. 'A lot of students are already doing this,' Lake said. More districts are training staff to use the technology, though many educators remain reluctant. Terrie Galanti, associate professor at the University of North Florida, said AI success in student learning depends on how teachers are prepared to use it. 'AI can be more than an explainer or an answer giver,' said Galanti, who teaches secondary mathematics and STEM integration/computational thinking. 'With thoughtful prompts, AI can become part of interactive, collaborative conversations to deepen mathematics understanding.' The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics said in a February 2024 position paper that teachers have long been accustomed to technological advances that change the way students learn. Related They had already adjusted to the availability of pocket calculators in the early '80s and, more recently, to the widespread use of PhotoMath, a mobile app that recognizes and solves math problems. It notes that advancements in AI make teachers more, not less valuable, in student learning. Latrenda Knighten, the organization's president, told Education Week in March that students will still need to rely upon their own discernment to solve mathematical problems — regardless of what tools become available. 'We know that children learn math from being able to problem-solve, being able to use reasoning skills, critical thinking, having opportunities to collaborate with each other and talk about what they're doing,' Knighten said. Irina Lyublinskaya, professor in the department of mathematics, science, and technology at Teachers College, Columbia University, distinguished between chatbots like ChatGPT and computational knowledge engines like WolframAlpha. She noted math specific AI-powered applications — including WolframAlpha and Symbolab — work very well. 'AI chatbots can help students learn math, and they can help teachers to support students, but this is not about asking ChatGPT to solve a math problem,' she said. 'I know of research-based initiatives that use AI to adapt learning materials to students' learning styles and abilities and these definitely help students learn.' One, she noted, was EvidenceB, developed by researchers and educators in Europe, and is now being tested in NYC. Related 'Chatbots can be trained as teaching assistants or tutors that can provide students proper scaffolding and feedback, helping them to learn math the same way they would with a real person,' she said. Zachary A. Pardos is an associate professor of education at the University of California Berkeley where he studies adaptive learning and AI. He found, in a study conducted a year ago, that 25% of the answers provided by ChatGPT in algebra were incorrect. 'That's pretty high,' he noted. 'Much higher than you would want.' But the technology has improved since then. 'With the right techniques — at least in algebra — from an error perspective, I feel it is ready for real-time intervention in math,' he said.
