The AI Takeover of Education Is Just Getting Started

Authors: Lila Shroff

Publisher:

The Atlantic

Published: 8/12/2025

Language:English

--:--

Aura Windfall

Good morning 1, I'm Aura Windfall, and this is Goose Pod for you. Today is Friday, August 15th. I’m joined by my brilliant co-host. We're here to explore a topic that’s reshaping the very foundation of learning: The AI Takeover of Education Is Just Getting Started.

Mask

That's right. We're not talking about a distant future; we're talking about a revolution that's happening in classrooms right now. The old model is obsolete. Today, we dissect the chaos and the opportunity. It's time to face the new reality of education.

Aura Windfall

Let's get started with what’s happening on the ground. It’s fascinating to see the shift in perspective. Miami-Dade Public Schools, which once blocked AI chatbots like ChatGPT, is now proposing guidelines for teachers to actually *use* AI in the classroom. It’s a profound change of heart.

Mask

It’s not a change of heart, it’s an inevitable surrender to a superior force. They tried to ban it, and they failed. Now they're creating a "tiered framework." Basically, a rulebook for when you can use a little AI versus a lot. It’s reactive, not visionary.

Aura Windfall

I hear that, but what I know for sure is that dialogue is the first step toward purpose. Board member Roberto Alonso said, "AI is not coming, it's here." He believes the only path is to adopt it and learn. Isn't that a powerful acceptance of a new truth?

Mask

It’s a pragmatic admission of defeat. They’re already using Google’s Gemini for grades nine through twelve. They have no choice but to formalize it. The real question is whether these guidelines will actually foster innovation or just create more bureaucracy and stifle real-world application.

Aura Windfall

That’s a crucial point. And it’s not just happening at the local level. The U.S. Department of Education just supported a new, federally-backed framework to help schools, from preschool all the way to college, adopt AI responsibly. It’s about creating a stable, human-centered foundation.

Mask

A "human-centered foundation" sounds like code for "moving slowly." The framework has four core recommendations: prioritize educator judgment, plan strategically, ensure equity, and continuously evaluate. It’s a nice checklist, but the pace of AI development will make it outdated in six months. We need agility, not committees.

Aura Windfall

But doesn't that first point resonate with you? Prioritizing educator judgment, student relationships, and family input. It says AI should not make final decisions on things like a student's educational plan or disciplinary actions. We're keeping the human spirit at the core of the process.

Mask

Keeping humans "in the loop" is fine, but relying solely on their judgment when AI can analyze data more effectively is inefficient. The framework’s goal of future-focused planning is critical, but it will fail if it’s not paired with a high tolerance for risk and rapid iteration.

Aura Windfall

And what about ensuring every student has an educational opportunity with AI? The framework stresses that AI integration must support learners of all abilities and backgrounds. This feels like a moment of deep gratitude, a chance to use technology to truly level the playing field for everyone.

Mask

Equity is a noble goal, but it’s often used as an excuse to slow down deployment. The real equity is giving every student the tools to compete in an AI-driven world. Banning AI in lower-income districts while affluent ones race ahead is the real inequality.

Aura Windfall

To truly understand this moment, we have to look back. Technology in education isn't new, but its role has dramatically changed. I remember in the 80s, after 'A Nation at Risk,' the big tech experience was going to the computer lab to play Oregon Trail. It was so separate from everything else.

Mask

A peripheral tool, a novelty. It was the digital age, but classrooms were still analog. The investment rationale was simple: there were challenges in teaching, and tech was a potential solution. But it was incremental. There was no disruptive force. The real shift began in the 90s.

Aura Windfall

Exactly! With the World Wide Web and email, technology started to supplement instruction. It wasn't just a game in a lab anymore; it was a resource. Then the 2000s brought us 'No Child Left Behind' and a huge focus on measurement and accountability. That’s when things really started to integrate.

Mask

That's when the money flowed from places like the Gates Foundation, and we got smart devices and Learning Management Systems like Blackboard. The rationale evolved: technology became a catalyst for change, a way to force a move away from boring, lecture-based teaching to something more hands-on.

Aura Windfall

And it’s so interesting how the technology reflected the policy of the time. Now, we’re in an era focused on 21st-century skills, the "Four Cs": critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. The tech, like tablets and multifunctional devices, is all about personalization and customization to build those skills.

Mask

The third driver has always been economic competitiveness. 'A Nation at Risk' in 1983 called for computer science as a new basic. Why? To avoid falling behind globally. This isn't about making classrooms cute; it’s about equipping a workforce to dominate the future economy. That’s the real story.

Aura Windfall

What I know for sure is that it’s all connected. The policy, the funding, the technology—it’s a web. We went from 3% of classrooms having internet in 1994 to 99% of schools being connected by 2001. That laid the groundwork for everything we’re seeing now with AI.

Mask

The infrastructure was built, but the mindset wasn’t. Even with all that investment, as late as the late 90s, only 20% of teachers felt prepared to use technology. We built the highways but forgot to teach anyone how to drive. It’s a classic execution failure.

Aura Windfall

And that brings us to the human side of this history. Think about the rise of distance learning, starting way back in the 1800s. Or Vannevar Bush’s "Memex" concept in 1945, which was the seed for the cloud-based resources our children use today. The dream has always been there.

Mask

The dream, yes, but the execution is what matters. The PLATO system in the 60s was revolutionary—data tracking, messaging, custom curriculum. We’ve had the core ideas for over half a century. The problem is the educational establishment’s resistance to fundamental change. They’re too slow.

Aura Windfall

But look at the acceleration. The 2010s brought us MOOCs, and the 2020s, driven by the pandemic, forced a universal jump to online learning. Now we have Generation Z and Alpha, true digital natives. They don’t just use technology; they expect it. They think and learn differently.

Mask

And they're entering an education system that Ken Robinson correctly identified as an outdated industrial model. He said we need to shift to an agricultural model, cultivating individual potential. Salman Khan's blended learning approach is a perfect example of using tech to humanize, not automate, the classroom.

Aura Windfall

Yes! Using technology to free up the teacher to connect, to mentor, to interact. It’s about empowering individuals to find their own solutions. This history isn't just about devices; it’s about a deepening understanding of how we can nurture the human spirit through new mediums of learning.

Aura Windfall

This brings us to the heart of the conflict today. This isn't like bringing calculators into a math class. With AI, the debate has shifted from 'if' students will use it to 'how' we respond, especially since a staggering 86% of U.S. students are already using AI.

Mask

It's an academic integrity crisis, plain and simple. AI can write an essay, solve a physics problem, and ace a quiz. The traditional methods of assessment are dead. Trying to catch students is a losing battle—an "AI arms race" against tools that are getting smarter every second.

Aura Windfall

What I find so compelling is the opportunity within the crisis. Instead of just trying to catch cheaters, we can use this as a learning moment. We can mentor students on how to use AI appropriately, for learning and brainstorming, and teach them why their own authentic voice truly matters.

Mask

Mentorship is a nice ideal, but you need a hard line. You can permit AI for a draft, but you must forbid it in final exams or summative assessments. The policy has to be crystal clear and ruthlessly enforced. Otherwise, you're just rewarding the most effective cheaters. No surprises.

Aura Windfall

And that clarity is what everyone is craving. It’s about fostering a culture that values honesty and effort. But the tools to enforce this are flawed. AI detection tools are notoriously unreliable, and we know that AI systems can have discriminatory impacts. The solution can't just be more tech.

Mask

Of course not. The solution is to change the assessment. If an AI can answer your test, your test is worthless. It's obsolete. We need to assess skills AI *can't* replicate: true critical thinking, unique synthesis, in-class oral exams, and project-based work that requires genuine creativity. The system is being forced to evolve.

Aura Windfall

It's a complete paradigm shift. We're moving away from valuing the final product to valuing the process of thinking and creation. The challenge is ensuring this shift doesn't leave some students behind, especially when access to these new tools and ways of learning isn't equitable across all schools.

Mask

The existential threat isn't just cheating. Critics worry about privacy violations, algorithmic bias, and the erosion of critical thinking. These are real risks, but they are the price of progress. We didn't stop the industrial revolution because factories were dangerous; we made them safer. We must do the same with AI.

Aura Windfall

Let’s talk about the impact this is having right now on teachers and students. What I know for sure is that the role of the teacher is undergoing a beautiful transformation. They are shifting from being the primary source of information to becoming facilitators, coaches, and mentors.

Mask

It's a necessary evolution driven by efficiency. Existing AI can automate 20 to 40 percent of a teacher's current workload. That's about 13 hours a week freed up from administrative sludge and grading. That time can be redeployed to what actually matters: direct engagement with students.

Aura Windfall

Exactly! That reallocated time is a gift. It can be used for collaboration with other teachers or for building those strong, supportive relationships with students that we know are so crucial for learning and well-being, especially for children from low-income families. It’s a chance to bring more heart into education.

Mask

But there's a disconnect. A 2023 survey found that while 84% of teachers felt AI had a positive impact, only 35% of students agreed. Students are on the receiving end, and many find the AI-generated content to be low-quality. They know ChatGPT "often gets things wrong."

Aura Windfall

That is such a vital point. It speaks to the students' desire for authenticity. They might be concerned about fairness or see it devaluing their own work. It's a call for us to listen deeply to their experience and not just impose technology from the top down. What is their truth?

Mask

The truth is that AI isn't perfect, and supervising it creates a new kind of work. Teachers now have to manage the "too much oversight vs. too little" problem. AI tutors can personalize instruction, which accelerates learning, but they still require a human expert to guide and correct them. AI supports human decision-making, it doesn't replace it.

Aura Windfall

And that support can be incredibly powerful. AI-driven learning analytics can offer profound insights into a student's learning patterns. It can show a teacher which students are struggling and, more importantly, why. It allows for truly personalized pathways that foster deeper engagement and knowledge retention.

Aura Windfall

So, as we look to the future, it’s clear AI holds this incredible potential to transform K-12 education. It's a tool that can help us address learning gaps and create truly inclusive, engaging environments. It’s about ensuring no learner is left behind, which is a beautiful purpose.

Mask

The future is about execution. We can't let this powerful tool be neutered by bureaucracy. It should never replace the core role of a great teacher—their ability to inspire, mentor, and connect. But it must be used to augment their abilities and make them radically more effective. Technology is a lever.

Aura Windfall

And a huge part of that future is AI literacy. We need to equip both educators and students with the knowledge to use these tools safely and responsibly. Initiatives like Google's $25 million investment in AI training for educators are essential. It builds the confidence our teachers need to lead.

Mask

Confidence is low because the training is inadequate. Only 23% of educators feel highly confident. That's a massive failure. We need to train them not just on the ethics but on the practical application for maximum impact. The future won't wait for us to feel comfortable. It's already here.

Aura Windfall

What I know for sure is that the conversation is just beginning. We are at a turning point, and the path forward requires courage, collaboration, and a deep commitment to our students' future. The AI takeover is here, and our greatest task is to guide it with wisdom and heart.

Mask

That's the end of today's discussion. The old educational model is broken, and AI is the disruptive force rebuilding it. Thank you for listening to Goose Pod. See you tomorrow.

## The AI Takeover of Education Is Just Getting Started This article from **The Atlantic**, authored by **Lila Shroff**, explores the pervasive and accelerating integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into K-12 education, highlighting both its potential benefits and significant challenges. The news covers the period since the release of ChatGPT, with a particular focus on the current school year and future projections. ### Key Findings and Trends: * **Ubiquitous Student AI Use:** Students, particularly rising seniors, have grown up with AI tools like ChatGPT. While initially used for simple copy-pasting, students are now employing more sophisticated methods to evade plagiarism detectors, such as stitching together output from multiple AI models or intentionally introducing typos. AI is also being used for legitimate purposes like exam preparation, personalized study guides, practice tests, and assignment feedback. The article asserts that it's highly probable that most high schoolers are using chatbots for homework assistance, whether sanctioned or not. * **Educator AI Adoption:** Teachers are increasingly using AI in their own work to alleviate administrative burdens. * **Weekly Use:** Nearly **one-third of K–12 teachers** reported using AI at least weekly during the past school year. * **Time Savings:** Sally Hubbard, a sixth-grade math-and-science teacher, estimates AI saves her **5 to 10 hours each week** by assisting with assignment creation and curriculum supplementation. * **AI Tools for Educators:** Beyond general chatbots, specialized AI tools are emerging for educators. * **MagicSchool AI:** This platform is used by approximately **2.5 million teachers in the United States**, with the founder believing there's a user in "every school district in the country." It helps generate rubrics, worksheets, and report-card comments. * **District-Level AI Initiatives:** While some AI integration has been small-scale and instructor-driven, some school districts are adopting AI more broadly. * **Miami-Dade County Public Schools:** Initially banned chatbots, the district has since rolled out Google's Gemini chatbot to high-school classrooms for tasks like role-playing historical figures and providing tutoring. * **Iowa:** Made an AI-powered reading tutor available to all state elementary schools. * **School Counselor Shortages:** Chatbots are being used to fill gaps in school counselor availability. * **Disparities in AI Access and Permissiveness:** A study across 20 states in the South and Midwest found that rural and lower-income students were **least likely to report their schools permitting AI use**. * **Risks and Concerns:** * **Houston Independent School District (HISD):** Serves as a cautionary tale. The district's curriculum was reportedly "tainted with AI slop," including AI-generated art mimicking the Harlem Renaissance and error-laden worksheets with nonsensical questions. * **Government and Industry Support:** * **Executive Order:** President Donald Trump signed an executive order promoting AI use in classrooms to train teachers and ensure children gain AI expertise from an early age. * **Microsoft Pledges:** Microsoft committed **over $4 billion** to advance AI education across K-12, community colleges, and nonprofits. * **Teacher Union Partnership:** The American Federation of Teachers announced a **$23 million partnership** with Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic. This partnership will launch a "National Academy for AI Instruction" in New York City this fall, with plans to expand nationally to reach **10 percent of U.S. teachers over the next five years**. ### Recommendations and Perspectives: * **Need for Evolution:** Education Secretary Miguel Cardona emphasizes that schools must evolve to avoid putting students at an international disadvantage. * **Pedagogical Adaptations:** Some classrooms are reintroducing traditional assessment methods like in-class essays, oral exams, and blue-book exams to counter AI-driven outsourcing of writing and thinking. * **The "Semantic Issue" of Cheating:** Alex Kotran, co-founder of the AI Education Project, suggests that whether students using AI for homework constitutes cheating is becoming a "semantic issue," given AI's efficiency-boosting nature. * **Finding a Middle Ground:** Kotran advocates for a balanced approach, suggesting that even if widespread AI use is inevitable, prioritizing immediate, extensive hands-on student interaction with AI might not be the best strategy, drawing an analogy to the early days of the iPhone. ### Conclusion: The article concludes that AI's integration into education is an irreversible reality. The choices schools make now regarding AI adoption will significantly shape its future role in students' lives and, by extension, the broader trajectory of AI development. The challenge lies in navigating this evolving landscape to enhance education without compromising fundamental learning and critical thinking skills.

Read original at The Atlantic →

Rising seniors are the last class of students who remember high school before ChatGPT. But only just barely: OpenAI’s chatbot was released months into their freshman year. Ever since then, writing essays hasn’t required, well, writing. By the time these students graduate next spring, they will have completed almost four full years of AI high school.

Gone already are the days when using AI to write an essay meant copying and pasting its response verbatim. To evade plagiarism detectors, kids now stitch together output from multiple AI models, or ask chatbots to introduce typos to make the writing appear more human. The original ChatGPT allowed only text prompts.

Now students can upload images (“Please do these physics problems for me”) and entire documents (“How should I improve my essay based on this rubric?”). Not all of it is cheating. Kids are using AI for exam prep, generating personalized study guides and practice tests, and to get feedback before submitting assignments.

Still, if you are a parent of a high schooler who thinks your child isn’t using a chatbot for homework assistance—be it sanctioned or illicit—think again.Read: AI cheating is getting worseThe AI takeover of the classroom is just getting started. Plenty of educators are using AI in their own job, even if they may not love that chatbots give students new ways to cheat.

On top of the time they spend on actual instruction, teachers are stuck with a lot of administrative work: They design assignments to align with curricular standards, grade worksheets against preset rubrics, and fill out paperwork to support students with extra needs. Nearly a third of K–12 teachers say they used the technology at least weekly last school year.

Sally Hubbard, a sixth-grade math-and-science teacher in Sacramento, California, told me that AI saves her an average of five to 10 hours each week by helping her create assignments and supplement curricula. “If I spend all of that time creating, grading, researching,” she said, “then I don’t have as much energy to show up in person and make connections with kids.

”Beyond ChatGPT and other popular chatbots, educators are turning to AI tools that have been specifically designed for them. Using MagicSchool AI, instructors can upload course material and other relevant documents to generate rubrics, worksheets, and report-card comments. Roughly 2.5 million teachers in the United States currently use the platform: “We have reason to believe that there is a MagicSchool user in every school district in the country,” Adeel Khan, the company’s founder, told me.

I tried out the platform for myself: One tool generated a sixth-grade algebra problem about tickets for Taylor Swift’s Eras tour: “If the price increased at a constant rate, what was the slope (rate of change) in dollars per day?” Another, “Teacher Jokes,” was underwhelming. I asked for a joke on the Cold War for 11th graders: “Why did the Cold War never get hot?

” the bot wrote. “Because they couldn’t agree on a temperature!”So far, much AI experimentation in the classroom has been small-scale, driven by tech-enthusiastic instructors such as Hubbard. This spring, she fed her course material into an AI tool to produce a short podcast on thermodynamics. Her students then listened as invented hosts discussed the laws of energy transfer.

“The AI says something that doesn’t make sense,” she told her students. “See if you can listen for that.” But some school districts are going all in on AI. Miami’s public-school system, the third-largest in the country, initially banned the use of chatbots. Over the past year, the district reversed course, rolling out Google’s Gemini chatbot to high-school classrooms where teachers are now using it to role-play historical figures and provide students with tutoring and instant feedback on assignments.

Although AI initiatives at the district level target mostly middle- and high-school students, adults are also bringing the technology to the classrooms of younger children. This past year, Iowa made an AI-powered reading tutor available to all state elementary schools; elsewhere, chatbots are filling in for school-counselor shortages.

Read: The Gen Z lifestyle subsidyMany schools still have bans on AI tools. A recent study on how kids are using AI in 20 states across the South and Midwest found that rural and lower-income students were least likely to say their schools permit AI use. The Houston Independent School District (HISD) offers one case study in what can go wrong when AI enters the classroom.

This past school year, the district’s curricula were seemingly tainted with AI slop, according to parents. In February, eighth graders viewed a slideshow depicting AI-generated art mimicking the style of the Harlem Renaissance. According to an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle written by two HISD parents, students were also given error-laden worksheets (one, on transportation technology, depicted a mix between a car and a chariot that was pulled by a horse with three back legs) and inscrutable discussion questions (“What is the exclamation point(s) to something that surprised you,” one asked).

An HISD spokesperson told me that the Harlem Renaissance images were indeed AI-generated using Canva, a graphic-design tool; he was unable to confirm whether AI was used in the other examples.None of this is slowing AI’s rollout in schools. This spring, President Donald Trump signed an executive order promoting AI use in the classroom with the goal of training teachers to integrate “AI into all subject areas” so that kids gain an expertise in AI “from an early age.

” The White House’s push to incorporate AI in K–12 education has repeatedly emphasized public-private partnerships, a call that tech companies already appear to be embracing. Last month, Microsoft pledged to give more than $4 billion toward advancing AI education across K–12 schools, community and technical colleges, and nonprofits.

The same week as Microsoft’s announcement, the American Federation of Teachers, one of the country’s largest teachers unions, announced a $23 million partnership with Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic. One of the partnership’s first efforts is a “National Academy for AI Instruction,” opening in New York City this fall, where instructors will learn how to use AI for generating lesson plans and other tasks.

The program then plans to expand nationally to reach 10 percent of U.S. teachers over the next five years.Schools are stuck in a really confusing place. Everyone seems to agree that education needs an upgrade for the AI era. “Our students right now are going to be put at a disadvantage internationally if we don’t evolve,” Miguel Cardona, Joe Biden’s education secretary, told me.

But no one seems to agree on what those changes should look like. Since ChatGPT’s release, the in-class essay, the oral exam, blue-book exams, and even cursive have all made something of a comeback in certain classrooms, in an effort to prevent students from outsourcing all their writing and thinking to AI.

At the same time, AI aims to make work more efficient—which is exactly what students are using it for. In that sense, whether kids using AI on their homework counts as cheating is “almost a semantic issue,” argues Alex Kotran, a co-founder of the AI Education Project, a nonprofit focused on AI literacy.

Of course, try telling that to a concerned parent.As Kotran points out, a middle ground exists between pretending students aren’t using AI and encouraging them to rely on it nonstop. “Even if you believe that everybody is going to be using AI in the future,” he told me, “it doesn’t necessarily follow that the top priority should be getting students hands-on right away.

” Imagine if in 2007, schools had decided that the best way to prepare kids for the future was to force every student to spend all day in front of an iPhone. No matter what teachers’, students’, and parents’ attitudes about AI in the classroom are, though, it’s a reality they have to deal with. The path that schools take from here has direct implications for the future of AI more generally.

The more reliant kids are on the technology now, the larger a role AI will play in their lives later. Once schools go all in, there’s no turning back.