Australian students risk losing cognitive abilities critical to learning and development unless urgent action is taken to stop AI brain rot, according to a new report.
Schools need to urgently focus on teaching complex reasoning and strong knowledge foundations, instead of allowing students to “Google it” or outsource thinking to AI, argues the Australian Network for Quality Digital Education, run by the University of Technology, Sydney.
There is an overwhelming need for national guidelines on the safe and educational use of AI in schools, as well as a plan to equip teachers to guide their use, coauthors cognitive psychologist Professor Jason Lodge and Professor Leslie Loble said.
“There is a need for a strong pedagogical response that supports students to offload lower-order tasks to AI, while building self-regulated learning capability and critical thinking skills that will help students understand and evaluate complex content,” the authors said in a statement.
Professor Loble, who is also the Network’s Chair, said AI posed a significant risk for students who outsource too much cognitive work considered crucial for establishing knowledge, skills and thinking infrastructure.
“The cognitive offloading from human to AI is especially risky for school students, who are building the foundational knowledge and skills that enable schooling and lifelong capacity for learning and understanding,” Prof Lobel said.
“The educational imperative is not to protect students from a world where AI is the norm, but to prepare them for it.
“We know students are already using AI extensively, so we can’t put this policy challenge in the ‘too hard’ basket as we did until recently with social media.
“The issue isn’t whether AI exists in classrooms, but whether it is being used to strengthen learning and help students become more effective learners.
“The decisions we make now will determine whether AI deepens students’ knowledge and critical thinking, or instead hollows out the learning process and causes long-term harm to their cognitive development.”
The report identifies two critical leverage points for improving learning with AI:
- Designing AI tools for schools that foster learning, not replace it. This means tools should promote cognitive engagement, deeper thinking and the development of foundational knowledge, not simply generate answers.
- Giving teachers clear guidance, strategies and evidence-based resources to deploy AI effectively. Teachers remain the most important factor in student learning. With the right support, they can help students use AI to extend their thinking rather than outsource it.
Professor Lodge said a growing body of evidence showed that using AI can introduce serious risks for school students.
“School years are critical for building the memory stores and cognitive foundations that last a lifetime,” he said.
“If we allow AI to replace that process for some students, we risk creating a learning divide that will be very hard to close.
“Further investment in research to understand these mechanisms is crucial.”
