TL;DR: Smartphones sparked a raging debate over how quickly tech can scramble childhood development—but AI could do it even faster. A new study that consulted over 500 people across 50 countries warns that using AI in the classroom is a shortcut with a steep cost: Kids offload thinking, bond with yes-bots, and leave behind permanent data trails long before they understand the stakes. But it’s not over for the youth yet. What happened: The report, from the Brookings Institution's Center for Universal Education, surfaces an important—if unsurprising—finding: It’s probably wise to keep AI out of classrooms. It’s basically a forward-looking “what could go wrong” exercise—researchers spoke with students, educators, and experts around the world and reviewed an array of research on the topic to arrive at some sobering conclusions: - One worry is a “doom loop of AI dependence,” as NPR put it—kids using tech to think for them, risking cognitive decline usually seen in aging brains.
- It can arrest social and emotional development: AI is a yes-bot for kids at an impressionable age and can foster “unhealthy digital attachments.”
- Using AI creates an “eternal digital footprint.” Data can be breached and stolen, and kids have a digital profile of them that could leave them “permanently branded” by academic and emotional difficulties faced during childhood.
There were some benefits too—AI can support reading, writing, and brainstorming for students and save teachers roughly six hours a week by automating routine tasks. The big takeaway: Whatever the potential benefits, the study says the potential risks outweigh them because kids have to know first how to safely use AI—as a supplement to learning—in order to enjoy the perks. For example, if AI undermines kids’ trust in teachers, peers, and real expertise, that would reshape classroom dynamics in ways that are hard to reverse. Why it matters: The Brookings study is a glimpse of what could come, as conversations around AI use in schools ramp up. No state has banned the use of AI in schools yet. Denver Public Schools just blocked access to ChatGPT, citing concerns about adult content accessible in the chatbot. Other districts, like NYC’s, initially blocked LLMs only to later roll their policies back. Could we see an AI ban?: Maybe. We can look to another tech as a crystal ball for whether this could work: the smartphone. New York State approved a statewide school phone ban last summer—with mostly positive results so far—and several states are weighing similar rules. The belief is that smartphones are constant distractions that erode focus, derail instruction, and pull kids out of real-world social interaction. Early studies on AI chatbots point in a similar direction: One paper found that students who rely on generative AI tools scored lower on exams compared with peers who don’t use them. Zooming out: The Brookings study has implications far beyond kids. If AI weakens young brains, it’s hard to argue adults are immune. Over time, you risk a population that is less practiced in critical reasoning, more suggestible, and more reliant on AI for everyday judgment—not just what to wear, but what to believe and how to interpret major events. The last thing in Pandora’s box: While the study said these findings were “daunting,” it also said the problem—as of now—was “fixable.” It offers some solutions, like designing student-specific AI that challenges them rather than just agreeing, and making school engaging enough that kids want to do the thinking themselves. —WK | 
Signal (maybe not for everyone, but worth checking out if you have mobility issues—or just want to add miles to your exercise routine) —AS
