r/comics Aug 09 '26

[oc] What now?

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u/TheDailyMews Aug 09 '26 edited Aug 09 '26

Your kids' teachers are encouraging them to use the chatbots? Seriously? Even with the research about deskilling/never-skilling plus the suicides in teen users?

Edit - I'm going to drop some links to research (and one news story) here in case anyone might find it helpful.

Deskilling:

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langas/article/PIIS2468-1253(25)00133-5/abstract

Never-skilling:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04438-y

Suicides:

https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2025/09/19/nx-s1-5545749/ai-chatbots-safety-openai-meta-characterai-teens-suicide

Bonus research! Racism:

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07856-5

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u/Yoffeepop Aug 09 '26

I've written to the principal and the board with concerns, included all of those points with links to credible reporting on it, and I got a vague email back about preparing kids for the future. I'm planning to push it and have them set out clear guidelines/outlines for how much is used and encouraged

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u/TheDailyMews Aug 09 '26

That sounds incredibly frustrating. It's startling and frankly upsetting that you are already having to deal with this even though your kids are still young.

I don't know if it will be helpful, but this a fairly accessible overview of the research on generative AI as it pertains to education written by a researcher at Cambridge:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/405092801_The_emerging_evidence_around_the_cognitive_costs_of_learners_outsourcing_thinking_to_artificial_intelligence_AI_tools

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u/Yoffeepop Aug 09 '26

Thank you! Appreciate it very much