Forum: Teach our children not just how to use AI, but when not to reach for it

I read the reports “Singapore students rank top in reading, second in maths and science in OECD study” and “Two-thirds of S’pore students use AI to help them learn at least once a week” (Sept 9) with mixed feelings.

As a mother of two teenagers, I am proud of what our students have achieved. But I wonder how many of our children are genuinely benefiting from all this AI use.

The study found that two-thirds of students here use AI chatbots weekly, compared with 46 per cent across OECD countries, and that only 4 per cent almost never do. Nearly half use it to research topics, summarise texts and draft their writing. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development also noted that across its countries, students who did not use AI chatbots tended to score about 20 points higher in science.

It is easy to teach a child to use artificial intelligence and get an answer quickly. What is much harder is building the determination, resilience and curiosity to keep going when something is difficult – to sit with the frustration, make mistakes, try again and, eventually, work it out for themselves. It cannot be prompted into existence.

If we use AI to remove too much of the struggle from learning, I fear we also remove the very thing that grows perseverance and independent thinking.

I hope schools will teach not just how to use AI, but also when not to reach for it – attempt it yourself first, then use AI, then explain the answer in your own words. And I hope we parents will ask our children a different question at the dinner table. Not “did you finish?” but “what did you try before you asked?”

Adeline Yong