AI in the classroom prompts tide of concern from US parents and experts

‘There is this overwhelming sense that ed tech companies are deciding what kids learn, and teachers are just being put into this position of tech support instead of driving the decisions about what is best for kids in terms of learning.’ Photograph: adamkaz/Getty Images

In October, Kelly Clancy’s son received an assignment in sixth grade at a middle school in Brooklyn, New York, to create a science experiment and then ask Google Gemini, an artificial intelligence chatbot, for feedback, she said.

Clancy, who has three children in New York City public schools, told the teacher that the bot “is something that just teaches kids that they can have machines do the thinking for them”, instead of suggesting: “Let’s talk to your partners. What about the science experiment could you improve?”