Pupils in England are losing their thinking skills because of AI, survey suggests
Pupils using artificial intelligence are losing their capacity for critical thinking, according to a survey of secondary school teachers in England.Two-thirds said they had observed the decline among children who they also said no longer felt the need to spell because of voice-to-text technology.“Students are losing core skills – thinking, creativity, writing, even how to have a conversation,” one teacher told the National Education Union poll.“AI is destroying what ‘learning’ – problem-solving, critical thinking and collaborative effort – is,” said another.A third anonymous contributor added: “Children no longer feel the need to spell as voice-to-text replaces knowledge.
”The government has called for a digital revolution involving AI in schools, and in January announced plans to develop AI tutoring tools to provide one-to-one learning support for up to 450,000 disadvantaged pupils.Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said at the time: “AI tutoring tools have the potential to transform access to tailored support for young people, taking tutoring from a privilege of the lucky few, to every child who needs it – so all children can achieve and thrive.”Of the 9,000 state school teachers polled by the NEU, which is holding its conference in Brighton, 49% said they opposed the government’s plan for AI tutors, with just 14% in agreement.They worry that it will be used to cut costs and undermine the value of teaching skills.“Students who need tutors often need more than academic support.
AI will not give them that,” said one respondent.“Students will not be motivated by an AI tutor,” said another, while a third said: “Disadvantaged students need human interaction for tutoring rather than AI so that social skills can be enhanced and social isolation reduced.”Although teachers are sceptical about pupils using AI and complain about it aiding cheating in exams and homework, some admit they increasingly rely on it to do their jobs.As many as 76% use AI for day-to-day work, a significant increase from 53% last year.In the main, it is being used to create resources (61%), plan lessons (41%) and do admin (38%).
Just 7% are using AI tools for marking,However, 49% of schools lack any policies governing the use of AI either by staff or students and 66% have no policy specifically for students,“Staff are not trained to use it properly, but are using it and it’s producing sub-standard slop,” was one comment in the new poll,Another said: “If used correctly, AI can be a valuable educational tool; regulation and guidance is needed, and training and policies should be in place in every school for staff and students,”The NEU’s general secretary, Daniel Kebede, said: “Students must be able to think for themselves.
This is at the heart of learning, but our survey shows a reliance on AI is having an effect on students’ ability to think critically.“The profession is far from convinced that AI tutors are a magic bullet for closing opportunity gaps for disadvantaged students.The government is taking a risk in rolling out AI tutoring before its impacts are properly understood.”A government spokesperson said: “Our mission is to break the link between background and success, and the introduction of AI tutoring tools can help make that a reality – expanding the tailored support that is often only available to a privileged few to every child who needs it.“No technology should replace the foundations of core knowledge and disciplinary thinking that prepares pupils for later life.
But we also have to prepare children for a digitally enabled world.That’s why our schools white paper sets out a clear plan to ensure AI is used safely, critically and responsibly – so every young person can achieve and thrive.”
Court dismisses former WhatsApp security chief’s lawsuit against Meta
A US court has dismissed a lawsuit from WhatsApp’s former security chief, who alleged that parent company Meta ignored internal flaws he flagged about the messaging app’s digital defenses.Abdullah Baig, who claims he was fired in retaliation for raising these concerns, had alleged that billions of users had been put at risk because of these vulnerabilities. Thousands of employees could view sensitive user data, including profile photos and location, Baig claimed in the lawsuit filed in September. A judge ruled he had not presented enough evidence to move forward.The US district court in northern California ruled last month to dismiss Baig’s claims, with the judge, Laurel Beeler, writing on 19 March that “the complaint does not contain sufficient facts to show that the plaintiff reported violations of SEC rules or regulations
Goodbye mrbrightside416: Google allows users to alter quirky Gmail addresses
Did your McLovin!1976!@gmail.com email address seem funny at the time but less so now you are applying for dozens of jobs?Google has said it is giving US users a chance to appear more professional by letting them change their Google account username – whatever appears before @gmail.com in an email address – without losing access to their account.However, the tech company will limit the name changes to one per 12 months. In an example shared online by Google, the email address sk8tergrl123
Pupils in England are losing their thinking skills because of AI, survey suggests
Pupils using artificial intelligence are losing their capacity for critical thinking, according to a survey of secondary school teachers in England.Two-thirds said they had observed the decline among children who they also said no longer felt the need to spell because of voice-to-text technology.“Students are losing core skills – thinking, creativity, writing, even how to have a conversation,” one teacher told the National Education Union poll.“AI is destroying what ‘learning’ – problem-solving, critical thinking and collaborative effort – is,” said another. A third anonymous contributor added: “Children no longer feel the need to spell as voice-to-text replaces knowledge
Claude’s code: Anthropic leaks source code for AI software engineering tool
Anthropic accidentally released part of the internal source code for its AI-powered coding assistant, Claude Code, due to “human error”, the company said on Tuesday.An internal-use file mistakenly included in a software update pointed to an archive containing nearly 2,000 files and 500,000 lines of code, which were quickly copied to developer platform GitHub. A post on X sharing a link to the leaked code had more than 29m views early on Wednesday, and a rewritten version of the source code quickly became GitHub’s fastest-ever downloaded repository. Anthropic issued copyright takedown requests to try to contain the code’s spread. Within the code, users spotted blueprints for a Tamagotchi-esque coding assistant and an always-on AI agent, per the Verge
SpaceX confidentially files to go public at $1.75tn, reports say
SpaceX has confidentially filed for an initial public offering on the US stock market, according to reports from Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal. The IPO is set to be one of the most closely watched and highly valued listings in market history.Elon Musk’s company, which has become a dominant power in both space travel and satellite communications, could potentially seek a valuation upwards of $1.75tn. The confidential filing will give regulators a period to review and discuss the company’s financial disclosures before investors and the public are able to view them
‘System malfunction’ causes robotaxis to stall in the middle of the road in China
A “system malfunction” has caused several self-driving robotaxis to stall in the middle of the road in China, police have confirmed, after distressed riders were stranded for hours.Local authorities in the central Chinese city of Wuhan said they began receiving calls “one after another” on Tuesday night from riders reporting that autonomous vehicles operated by the Chinese internet company Baidu had frozen.“Multiple Apollo Go cars stopped in the middle of the road, unable to move,” police said in a statement on Wednesday, referring to Baidu’s driverless taxi service. “After investigation, preliminary findings suggest the cause was system malfunction.”Baidu has a fleet of more than 500 driverless cars in Wuhan
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