University of Minnesota Report on Artificial Intelligence and Learning Processes

A new report prepared by professors from the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota addresses the potential impacts of generative artificial intelligence on students. Experts state that they have reached a broad consensus that artificial intelligence could lead to serious and one-sided disruptions in the processes by which elementary school-aged children acquire fundamental skills.

Professor Panayiota Kendeou, a faculty member in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota and lead author of the report, emphasized that public discourse on the subject has a highly complex structure. While interviews with experts revealed that high-quality research on the impacts of artificial intelligence on learning is insufficient, a consensus was reached that the use of artificial intelligence can undermine critical learning processes in certain contexts.

The report stated that the careless use of general-purpose generative artificial intelligence tools could threaten high-level thinking skills that enable new ideas to be committed to memory and ensure deep understanding. It was argued that, particularly at the elementary school level, students must independently develop foundational skills, such as expressing their own ideas in writing, before delegating them to others.

It was noted that after students acquire fundamental skills such as critical thinking and writing, generative artificial intelligence can be used as a supportive tool for testing ideas, developing arguments, and searching for sources. Experts drew attention to the fact that cognitive thinking, learning skills, collaboration, socio-emotional development, and human relationships are at risk.