AI in Education: It’s Time to Stop Policing and Start Teaching

When calculators became widely available, schools panicked.

Would students ever learn long division again? Would mental arithmetic disappear? Would the art of “showing your working” be lost forever?

Then came the personal computer — and the same fears resurfaced. Could essays be trusted? Would spellcheck ruin literacy? Would students outsource thinking to Microsoft Word?

Each time, education adapted. And we’re better for it.

Today, we’re at a similar crossroads with tools like ChatGPT and generative AI. Many educators are treating them as a threat — something to ban, detect, or fear. But in my view, this approach is not just short-sighted — it’s actively harmful to the next generation of learners.

The solution is not to police AI. It’s to embrace it — and teach students how to use it responsibly, critically, and creatively.

The New Literacy: AI as a Tool, Not a Shortcut

Let’s be clear: AI tools like ChatGPT are not going away. They are already being integrated into everything from search engines and coding environments to email clients and productivity apps.

Trying to keep students away from AI is like trying to teach writing without word processors, or navigation without GPS. It’s an exercise in false purity that does little to prepare them for the real world.

What we should be doing instead is equipping students with AI literacy:

How to ask good questions (prompt engineering)
How to evaluate the accuracy and bias of generated content
How to refine, iterate, and fact-check responses
How to use AI as a collaborator, not a crutch

These are the skills that will define the workforce of the future.

The Wrong Fight: Policing vs Preparing

Some institutions have doubled down on AI detection tools and academic integrity software, attempting to catch students out for using AI in their work.

But these tools are notoriously unreliable — and in many cases, they punish students who haven’t cheated at all. Worse, they create an atmosphere of distrust and surveillance rather than curiosity and learning.

Instead of spending time and energy trying to detect AI use, we should be setting clear expectations for when and how AI tools can be used — and building assessments that measure deeper understanding.

For example:

Ask students to compare an AI-generated essay with their own and critique the differences.
Have them use AI to brainstorm ideas, then document their editing process.
Teach them to identify inaccuracies or hallucinations in AI responses and explain how they verified the facts.

This isn’t just assessment. It’s education.

AI Doesn’t Kill Thinking — It Reshapes It

Critics argue that AI makes students lazy — that it removes the struggle and effort required to truly learn. But this same argument was made about Google, Wikipedia, and even books before them.

The truth is, AI doesn’t eliminate thinking. It changes where the thinking happens.

Students still need to:

Understand the subject well enough to recognise when AI is wrong
Provide clear context to get useful answers
Organise and refine raw outputs into coherent, meaningful work
Reflect on what they’ve learned through the process

In this light, AI becomes less of a cheat code and more of a thought partner — helping students work faster, explore ideas, and deepen their understanding.

We Need Critical Thinkers, Not AI-Free Graduates

In a world where AI is rapidly becoming embedded in every industry — law, medicine, software, journalism, design — we do students no favours by shielding them from it.

The real skill is not abstinence. It’s discernment.

Can they tell when AI is bluffing? Can they improve a mediocre draft? Can they adapt their prompts to get better answers? Can they identify when a model response lacks nuance or cultural context?

These are 21st-century critical thinking skills — and they are every bit as important as traditional literacy and numeracy.

A New Role for Educators

Educators are no longer just transmitters of information. In the age of AI, they become guides, curators, and facilitators — helping students navigate a world where answers are abundant, but understanding is rare.

The opportunity here is immense. By bringing AI into the classroom — not as a threat, but as a tool — we can prepare the next generation to use it with skill, scepticism, and creativity.

That’s the real challenge. And the real promise.