How AI is reshaping children’s learning and what teachers fear

As artificial intelligence moves into classrooms, teachers warn it is changing how children think, write and interact. IOL reports teachers and surveys showing rising use of AI in student work and growing concern about its effects on learning and motivation.

Viral classroom anecdote and policy attention

According to IOL, a physics teacher recently found the sentence

“Would you like me to help with the other problems on the list?”

at the end of a pupil’s homework assignment. The correct solution was produced by artificial intelligence and copied so carelessly the pupil left the chatbot’s question in the submission; a video of the incident later went viral.

At about the same time, IOL reports, President Vladimir Putin instructed the State Council to prepare proposals for changing federal education standards to incorporate AI, signalling national-level attention to the issue.

How common is AI help with schoolwork?

According to IOL, by 2025 the share of student work written with the help of AI rose from 17.8% to 24%. IOL adds that nearly a quarter of presentations, essays, coursework, and even dissertations are now being produced with AI assistance.

Use among younger learners appears higher: According to IOL, 29% of Russian pupils admit they use AI tools to do homework, while 23% say they use them out of boredom, as a substitute for real conversation. IOL notes those figures reflect only those willing to admit it.

Teachers’ experiences and exam evidence

IOL reports many teachers see the effects first-hand. One teacher recounted a pupil whose homework essays were excellent but who consistently failed creative in-class assignments. According to IOL, the teacher said the pupil’s homework passed anti-plagiarism checks, but in the Russian language Unified State Exam, when deprived of his digital ghostwriter, the student produced a complete fiasco “his supposed literary ability belonged to a neural network,” the teacher said.

Concerns about effort, interaction and motivation

Surveys cited by IOL show widespread anxiety among teachers and respondents: 36% fear reduced mental effort will damage children’s development, 31% worry about the decline of face-to-face interaction, and 27% fear a collapse in motivation and the rise of what the article calls “catastrophic laziness.”

The article warns that AI can imitate effort and produce the appearance of thought or personality, while genuine student work even when flawed contains human effort, voice and emotion.

Possible responses from classrooms to policy

IOL argues that banning AI entirely would be ineffective. Instead, the article says, education systems should teach children to think, read, write, argue and calculate before introducing AI as an additional layer of support drawing a parallel to how calculators became useful only after basic arithmetic was mastered.

The piece highlights the importance of human contact and real conversation in teaching, and says that without restoring teacher authority, reducing bureaucracy and addressing staff shortages, families may turn to neural networks as the most accessible tutors.

Voices in the debate

IOL quotes IT pioneer Natalya Kaspersky as saying we risk raising

“a generation of complete idiots.”

The article treats the phrase as a stark warning while noting the need for practical approaches that teach both adults and children how to work with AI honestly.

Where this leaves schools

According to IOL, AI already helps teachers by preparing tests, presentations and analysing written work potentially reducing routine workloads but the core challenge is teaching proper use so the technology supports, rather than replaces, student thinking.

Teachers, parents and policymakers face a choice, the article suggests: integrate AI in ways that preserve human learning and interaction, or risk allowing machines to take the place of thought.