Fraser Institute Raises ‘Significant Concern’ Over Influence of AI Tech in Education

Rapidly rising in popularity over the past several years, artificial intelligence tools have been shown to boost productivity in workplaces.

But AI technology could be having negative implications on future talent—those still young enough to be developing their own personal skillset, separate from dependency on external tools.

Nearly half of teachers in Canada believe that a majority of their students are utilizing artificial intelligence technologies in order to complete homework assignments, suggests a recent report from Vancouver’s Fraser Institute, an independent public policy research organization which commissioned a Leger poll for its “Survey of Canadian Grades 6–12 Teachers on AI Use.”

“The teachers who responded to this poll report significant shares of students using AI for homework, and believe many of those students are using AI inappropriately to do their homework for them instead of assisting them,” says Paige MacPherson, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and co-author of Survey of Canadian Grades 6–12 Teachers on AI Use.

Moreover, a strong majority of teachers report a decline in certain skills, such as in-class writing and analytical skills, over the past five years. More than 80% reported a reduction in critical thinking skills among students.

And many say these differences between in-class skills and AI-supplemented output from home are only increasing.

“The majority of those surveyed report a decline in their students’ abilities to write and analyze material in class with worsened critical thinking skills compared to students five years ago,” MacPherson noted, describing the finding as “a significant concern.”

“Teachers are already seeing a high uptake amongst students … while reporting students’ critical thinking, in-class writing and analysis skills have dropped in just the last five years,” she stated.

“AI is a quickly emerging technology,” MacPherson acknowledges, but contends that “we are doing students and teachers a disservice if we don’t listen to educators’ concerns regarding AI and confront this new reality.”