Is AI Making Students Smarter or Making Them Stop Thinking?

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how students study, write, research and solve problems. Tools such as ChatGPT can explain difficult concepts, generate ideas and provide instant feedback. But educators are increasingly asking whether convenience comes at a cognitive cost. New international education data shows declines in reading and mathematics performance, while research suggests that AI can either strengthen or weaken critical thinking depending on how it is used. The challenge for schools and universities is no longer whether students will use AI, but how they use it. 

The New Classroom Has an AI Problem and an AI Opportunity

A student struggling with a mathematics problem once had a simple choice: ask a teacher, consult a textbook, discuss it with a classmate or work through it independently. Today, there is another option: open an AI chatbot and receive an answer within seconds.

AI is transforming education. Students are using it to explain difficult subjects, summarize articles, generate ideas, translate languages, check writing and solve problems. But one question is becoming increasingly important: If AI can do the thinking for students, will students still learn how to think for themselves?

The answer is not straightforward. AI can be a powerful learning assistant, but using it simply to obtain finished answers can encourage students to outsource mental work that they would otherwise perform themselves.

A Warning From Global Education Data

The debate comes at a time when student performance is already under pressure. The OECD's PISA 2025 assessment recorded the lowest OECD-average performance yet observed in mathematics and reading. Between 2015 and 2025, average reading scores across OECD countries fell by 28 points, while mathematics scores declined by 22 points.

The findings do not establish that AI caused these declines. Many of these educational challenges existed before generative AI became widespread. However, PISA also reported declines in skills such as evaluating information, connecting information from different sources and thinking critically about what is being read. These are exactly the skills students need when working with AI.

AI Can Also Become a Powerful Tutor

AI is not simply a threat to education. Used properly, it can act as an always-available tutor.

A student who does not understand photosynthesis can ask for a simpler explanation. A student learning mathematics can request additional practice problems. Someone learning a new language can practise conversations without worrying about making mistakes in front of classmates.

Research published in 2026 that analyzed 35 experimental studies found positive effects of ChatGPT on several learning outcomes, including problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking, motivation and engagement.

The important factor, however, is how students use the technology.

There is a major difference between asking AI to write an entire essay and asking it to identify weaknesses in an argument. In the first situation, AI may replace the student's work. In the second, it can encourage the student to question, revise and think more deeply.

The Risk of the "Answer Generation"

One of the biggest concerns is that students may stop struggling with difficult problems.

Struggle is part of learning. When a student attempts a mathematics problem, makes a mistake and tries again, the process develops understanding. Writing multiple drafts teaches students how to build arguments. Reading difficult material develops comprehension.

AI can shorten these processes. That can be useful when the technology provides guidance, but it can become harmful when every difficult task is immediately handed over to a chatbot.

Students also need to understand that AI-generated information can be incorrect. AI systems can misunderstand questions, provide incomplete information or produce confident answers that are wrong.

That means AI literacy requires subject knowledge. Students need enough understanding to question the answers they receive rather than simply accepting them.

Homework and Exams Are Changing

Generative AI is also forcing schools and universities to reconsider traditional assignments.

If a student can generate an essay, solve equations or summarize a chapter in seconds, a traditional take-home assignment may no longer accurately show what that student understands.

Some educators are therefore exploring classroom writing, oral examinations, project-based learning and assignments that require students to explain how they reached their conclusions.

The question is gradually changing from "How do we stop students from using AI?" to "How do we teach students to use AI without allowing it to replace learning?"

What Will the Student of the Future Need?

The future of education may require two forms of intelligence to work together.

Students will still need human abilities such as reasoning, creativity, curiosity, communication and judgment. At the same time, they will need AI literacy: the ability to ask effective questions, verify information, recognize limitations and use AI responsibly.

AI may therefore change what it means to be a successful student. Memorizing information will remain useful, but knowing how to evaluate information, construct an argument and ask the right questions could become even more important.

So, Is AI Making Students Smarter?

There is no simple yes-or-no answer.

AI can support learning when it is used for explanation, feedback, questioning and exploration. But poorly structured use can encourage students to outsource parts of the thinking process.

The real issue is not simply whether students use AI. It is whether they continue to read, write, solve problems, make mistakes and think independently.

AI does not have to replace the student's mind. It can become a tool that helps students explore ideas and understand difficult concepts more effectively.

The most important question for education may therefore no longer be, "Can AI give students the answer?"

It may be:

"Do students understand the answer and can they challenge it?"

That distinction could shape the future of education.

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