{"id":2139,"date":"2026-05-29T11:51:38","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T11:51:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/?p=2139"},"modified":"2026-05-29T11:51:38","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T11:51:38","slug":"you-people-cant-do-anything-what-ai-is-doing-to-our-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blueandread.asbarcelona.com\/?p=2139","title":{"rendered":"\u201cYou People Can\u2019t Do Anything!\u201d: What AI is Doing to Our Education"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This article was prompted by a recent discussion on AI\u2019s presence in education that I\u2019d participated in during my World Studies class and found quite interesting. An anonymous person arguing that the time spent on classes they didn\u2019t find interesting could be used to strengthen other skills, while two others argued against them really got me thinking about this topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I am not completely against the usage of AI in general, I disagree with it being used in education. A common argument I\u2019ve heard one too many times in debates about the use of AIn is that it should be used \u201cas a tool.\u201d However, those who use this argument against me always fail to clarify where that line is drawn. When several students use ChatGPT to do parts of their assignments, what differentiates it from being used \u201cas a tool\u201d and being used simply to avoid doing the work?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been a literacy decline all around the world\u2014predominantly in the US\u2014starting in the early 2000s. The National Literacy Trust released their annual literacy survey around the start of 2025 for people ages 5 to 18, and 114,970 responses revealed that reading frequency and enjoyment decline day by day. Only one in three children report that they enjoy reading in their free time. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) recorded that in 2019, the number of people aged 16 to 65 in the lowest literacy level increased to 28% in 2023. The early 2000s also coincidentally happened to be when today\u2019s most recognizable technologies were on the rise, such as cell phones and the internet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But why is this relevant? Just the dates matching up doesn\u2019t mean that technology is destroying our literacy, and what does this have to do with AI?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A pattern seen in the graph above highlights that the more time someone spends on a screen, the lower their reading level is. This can also be seen in a comparison of illiteracy rates in 10-year-olds between recent years and pre-COVID-19 years, rising from 57% in 2015 to an estimated 70% in 2022. While other factors can influence one\u2019s reading level, such as learning disabilities or prolonged school closures, the evidence pointing to screens being a major problem is overwhelming. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That being said, if technology alone already causes literacy rates to drop, without AI even being introduced into the mix, what happens when Artificial Intelligence starts completing every assignment and writing every essay?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ChatGPT 5.5 is advertised to generate fewer false claims and more accurate information, as well as better source analysis, and to have a more natural conversational tone\u2014an update designed to \u201cmake everyday interactions more useful and enjoyable,\u201d according to the site\u2019s parent company, OpenAI. The technology has become extremely advanced and difficult to differentiate from human writing, so much so that teachers sometimes can\u2019t differentiate human writing from AI just by reading. Although AI detectors are a thing, with the money AI companies like OpenAI reel in every day, we can\u2019t be sure that the detectors are advancing as quickly as the bots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you promise lazy teenagers who\u2019ve been burnt out from school months ago not only something that will write all their assignments for them, but also make it seem like a teenager wrote it, they\u2019d have practically hit the goldmine. Good luck trying to get anything handwritten out of them ever again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what nobody realizes about AI-generating every essay or book report is that it rids those assignments of their purpose. How will you learn to organize ideas and piece them together without writing essays? How will you learn to draft a piece of writing or analyze a text? The reason school exists is to develop basic skills in different areas of learning before getting to choose what you want to explore more as you go to higher education. This means not everything will necessarily pique your interest, but there are basics that must be learned. A study done by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) demonstrates that people who wrote essays with ChatGPT showed fewer neural connections associated with actually taking in the information. If ChatGPT is generating all your assignments without you giving yourself a chance to think about it yourself, how will you develop problem-solving skills for the times in which you don\u2019t have AI to hold your hand?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Knowledge, the foundation of all progress, is especially important in a world that not only is changing faster than ever, but also where skills are running dry. A human\u2019s knowledge is what solves problems, makes informed decisions, helps you grow, and grants you opportunities. The more you know, the more you will excel\u2014yet everyone is so insistent on using AI to pump out a quick answer that they do not make an effort to learn. While AI might be considered the most useful tool of the future, is it worth it if nobody can truly think for themselves?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Works Cited<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

\u201c100 Million More Children under the Minimum Reading Proficiency Level due to COVID-19 – UNESCO Convenes World Education Ministers.\u201d Unesco.org<\/em>, 2022, www.unesco.org\/en\/articles\/100-million-more-children-under-minimum-reading-proficiency-level-due-covid-19-unesco-convenes-world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coffey, Lauren. \u201cAmerica\u2019s Reading Crisis That No One Wants to Talk About.\u201d Mother Jones<\/em>, 23 Jan. 2026, www.motherjones.com\/politics\/2026\/01\/americas-reading-crisis-that-no-one-wants-to-talk-about\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gehrz, Chris. \u201cThe Spread of Technology since 1900.\u201d The Pietist Schoolman<\/em>, 30 July 2012, pietistschoolman.com\/2012\/07\/30\/the-spread-of-technology-since-1900\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National Literacy Trust. \u201cChildren and Young People\u2019s Reading in 2025.\u201d National Literacy Trust<\/em>, 11 June 2025, literacytrust.org.uk\/research-services\/research-reports\/children-and-young-peoples-reading-in-2025\/.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perry, Alex. \u201cOpenAI Rolls out ChatGPT 5.5 Instant as the New Default Model for Everyone.\u201d Mashable<\/em>, 5 May 2026, mashable.com\/article\/openai-chatgpt-55-instant-out-now. Accessed 15 May 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sandeman, George. Experts Warn AI Is Making Your Brain Work Less<\/em>. 20 Dec. 2025, www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cd6xz12j6pzo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sparks, Sarah D. \u201cScreen Time up as Reading Scores Drop. Is There a Link?\u201d Education Week<\/em>, 9 Nov. 2019, www.edweek.org\/technology\/screen-time-up-as-reading-scores-drop-is-there-a-link\/2019\/11.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

World Bank. \u201c70% of 10-Year-Olds Now in Learning Poverty, Unable to Read and Understand a Simple Text.\u201d World Bank<\/em>, 23 June 2022, www.worldbank.org\/en\/news\/press-release\/2022\/06\/23\/70-of-10-year-olds-now-in-learning-poverty-unable-to-read-and-understand-a-simple-text.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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