School researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) reviewed nearly 200 studies on how artificial intelligence affects children and young people’s ability to learn and think. They found that AI tools can support important skills when used to challenge, ask questions, compare different viewpoints, and build one’s own line of reasoning. However, when AI becomes a shortcut to a ready-made answer, the chance of overdependence, more superficial thinking, and weakened independent problem-solving increases.

The study revealed a significant knowledge gap in understanding how AI use impacts younger school children. In 80% of the studies analyzed, the participants were university or college students, leaving a significant gap in understanding the effects of AI on children and youths. The researchers also uncovered a geographically skewed distribution in where the studies were done, with South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia dominating the research.

The Norwegian Media Authority’s survey showed that the use of Google searches fell from 72% in 2024 to 47% in 2026 for 9 to 18-year-olds, with 39% of Norwegian 11 to 12-year-olds using AI. The website ung.no, Norway’s online information and communication channel for young people, is also losing traffic due to the shift to AI tools.

According to Hilde Storrøsæter, a PhD research fellow at NTNU’s Department of Teacher Education, teacher education has a dual task: educating teachers who can use and relate critically to AI themselves, and teaching children and young people how to use AI. Storrøsæter stresses that if we are to succeed with AI in schools, teacher education has to succeed.

The study highlights the need for AI literacy, protecting and developing competence in critical thinking, problem-solving, source criticism, and the ability to make independent assessments. As technology continues to develop faster than curricula and regulations can be put in place, cultivating AI literacy is crucial to shaping the use of AI in schools.

Este artículo fue escrito con la asistencia de IA.
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