Tag: creativity

AI: Are we empowering students – or outsourcing the skills we aim to cultivate?

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A stark split image contrasting two outcomes of AI in education, divided by a jagged white lightning bolt. The left side shows a diverse group of three enthusiastic students working collaboratively on laptops, with one student raising their hands in excitement. Above them, a vibrant, glowing display of keywords like "CRITICAL THINKING," "CREATIVITY," and "COLLABORATION" emanates, surrounded by data and positive learning metrics. The right side shows a lone, somewhat disengaged male student working on a laptop, with a large, menacing robotic hand hovering above him. The robot hand has glowing red lights and is connected to a screen filled with complex, auto-generated data, symbolizing the automation of tasks and potential loss of human skills. Image (and typos) generated by Nano Banana.
The rise of AI in education presents a crucial dichotomy: are we using it to truly empower students and cultivate essential skills, or are we inadvertently outsourcing those very abilities to algorithms? This image visually explores the two potential paths for AI’s integration into learning, urging a thoughtful approach to its implementation. Image (and typos) generated by Nano Banana.

Source

The Irish Times

Summary

Jean Noonan reflects on the dual role of artificial intelligence in higher education—its capacity to empower learning and its risk of eroding fundamental human skills. As AI becomes embedded in teaching, research, and assessment, universities must balance innovation with integrity. AI literacy, she argues, extends beyond technical skills to include ethics, empathy, and critical reasoning. While AI enhances accessibility and personalised learning, over-reliance may weaken originality and authorship. Noonan calls for assessment redesigns that integrate AI responsibly, enabling students to learn with AI rather than be replaced by it. Collaboration between academia, industry, and policymakers is essential to ensure education cultivates judgment, creativity, and moral awareness. Echoing Orwell’s warning in 1984, she concludes that AI should enhance, not diminish, the intellectual and linguistic richness that defines human learning.

Key Points

  • AI literacy must combine technical understanding with ethics, empathy, and reflection.
  • Universities are rapidly adopting AI but risk outsourcing creativity and independent thought.
  • Over-reliance on AI tools can blur authorship and weaken critical engagement.
  • Assessment design should promote ethical AI use and active, independent learning.
  • Collaboration between universities and industry can align innovation with responsible practice.
  • Education must ensure AI empowers rather than replaces essential human skills.

Keywords

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URL

https://www.irishtimes.com/ireland/education/2025/10/29/ai-are-we-empowering-students-or-outsourcing-the-skills-we-aim-to-cultivate/

Summary generated by ChatGPT 5

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AI in School Affects Pupils’ Ability to Create Original Work, Report Finds

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A dimly lit, futuristic classroom with rows of young students, predominantly girls, seated at individual desks, each intensely focused on an open laptop. Above each student's head, a clear, transparent bubble contains glowing digital circuitry and data, symbolizing ideas or creativity. These bubbles are connected by glowing blue lines that lead back to a large, imposing, glowing blue eye or orb on a dark monolith at the front of the classroom, suggesting a central AI influence. The students appear subdued and uniform. Image (and typos) generated by Nano Banana.
A concerning new report indicates that the increasing integration of AI in schools may be diminishing students’ capacity for original thought and creative work. This image visualizes the potential impact, raising questions about how technology might inadvertently hinder the development of essential human skills. Image (and typos) generated by Nano Banana.

Source

The Stage

Summary

A new Oxford University Press report warns that secondary school students in the UK fear artificial intelligence is limiting their creativity and originality. The study found that 80 per cent of pupils aged 13 to 18 use AI regularly for schoolwork, and while 90 per cent said it has helped them develop at least one skill, many expressed concern that it encourages imitation rather than innovation. Sixty per cent reported that AI makes them more likely to copy existing content, while 12 per cent said it hinders creative thinking and writing. Over half also feared AI tools reinforce biased or inaccurate stereotypes. The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain has called on schools and government to protect young people’s creative development and critical independence in the classroom.

Key Points

  • 80 per cent of pupils regularly use AI for schoolwork; only 2 per cent have never used it.
  • 60 per cent say AI encourages imitation and reduces originality.
  • 12 per cent believe AI negatively affects their creative thinking and writing.
  • 51 per cent worry AI tools reinforce bias and untrue stereotypes.
  • The Writers’ Guild urges policies to safeguard creativity and human-centred learning.

Keywords

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URL

https://www.thestage.co.uk/news/ai-in-school-affects-pupils-ability-to-create-original-work-report

Summary generated by ChatGPT 5

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How Generative AI Could Change How We Think and Speak

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A glowing, ethereal blue silhouette of a human head and shoulders against a dark, starry background. Within the head, vibrant cosmic energy and swirling light converge, symbolizing thought and consciousness. From the head, streams of complex code, abstract data visualizations, and various speech bubbles with different languages and concepts flow outward, representing language and communication. Above the head, two pairs of translucent, glowing hands reach down, seemingly interacting with or guiding the processes. On either side, futuristic holographic interfaces display intricate data and neural networks. Image (and typos) generated by Nano Banana.
Generative AI is not just changing how we create, but how we fundamentally process information and express ourselves. Explore the profound ways this transformative technology could reshape human thought patterns and linguistic communication in the years to come. Image (and typos) generated by Nano Banana.

Source

The Conversation

Summary

Antonio Cerella examines how generative AI may reshape the cognitive and linguistic habits that underpin human thought. Drawing on psychology, neuroscience, and linguistics, he argues that over-reliance on AI tools risks weakening creativity, critical thinking, and language mastery. Just as GPS technology has diminished spatial memory, constant AI-assisted writing and problem-solving could erode our ability to form and express original ideas. Cerella warns that when language becomes pre-packaged through AI systems, the connection between speech and thought deteriorates, fostering a “culture of immediacy” driven by emotion rather than understanding. Yet for those with mature linguistic awareness, AI can still serve as a creative partner—if used reflectively and not as a substitute for thought.

Key Points

  • Overuse of AI may dull critical thinking and creative language use.
  • Psychological research shows that technological reliance can reconfigure the brain.
  • AI-generated language risks weakening the link between thought and expression.
  • The loss of linguistic agency could erode democratic discourse and imagination.
  • Conscious, reflective engagement with language can preserve creativity and autonomy.

Keywords

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URL

https://theconversation.com/how-generative-ai-could-change-how-we-think-and-speak-267118

Summary generated by ChatGPT 5

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Will AI Make You Stupid?

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A digital representation of a human brain with glowing teal data streams and circuit-like patterns flowing out from its right side, against a dark, technical background with a subtle digital frame. Image (and typos) generated by Nano Banana.
Exploring the cognitive impact of artificial intelligence: Will reliance on AI enhance our intellect or diminish our critical thinking abilities? Image (and typos) generated by Nano Banana.

Source

The Economist

Summary

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study has found that students using ChatGPT during essay-writing tasks showed reduced brain activity in areas linked to creativity and attention. Similar research from Microsoft and the SBS Swiss Business School supports the claim that frequent AI use may diminish critical thinking, fostering “cognitive miserliness,” or the tendency to offload mental effort. While experts caution that the evidence is not yet conclusive, they warn that excessive reliance on AI could erode problem-solving and creative skills over time. Historical parallels—such as Socrates’ scepticism about writing—suggest technological tools often reshape, but do not destroy, cognitive abilities. The article concludes that using AI thoughtfully—prompting step by step and reflecting critically—can help preserve intellectual engagement even as automation advances.

Key Points

  • MIT researchers observed reduced creative and attentional brain activity in AI-assisted students.
  • Frequent AI users performed worse on critical-thinking tests in a Swiss study.
  • Over-reliance on AI can create “cognitive offloading” and feedback loops of dependence.
  • Experts urge reflective, guided use—AI as assistant, not replacement.
  • Strategies such as incremental prompting and “cognitive forcing” can sustain mental effort.
  • Evidence remains mixed: AI may change, but not necessarily weaken, human intelligence.

Keywords

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URL

https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/07/16/will-ai-make-you-stupid

Summary generated by ChatGPT 5

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