Keeping pace with AI: why the education system is falling behind
- Mar 4
- 3 min read
By: Hadley Carr
On November 30, 2022, ChatGPT was publicly released. Within five days of its launch, it reached 1 million users. By 2023, the new chatbot was in conversation with 100 million active users. Since then, the AI industry has grown exponentially: language learning models have become cheaper, AI agents are increasingly automating monotonous tasks, and the U.S. private sector invested over $109 billion in AI in 2024.
But, the new technology has left ethical concerns in the path of its expansion. The number of AI-related incidents reached 223 in 2024, a 56.4% increase from 2023. As the use of AI slowly pivots towards other industry sectors — with usage in 8% of education firms — there is growing concern in the broader role that the technology can and should play. In fall 2023, only 18 percent of K-12 teachers reported using AI for teaching, with English language arts and social studies teachers being the most likely users. In these cases, teachers were largely using AI to adapt instructional content to their classroom’s skill levels.
The use of AI in education may have the potential to be a “great equalizer”, but what if it does the opposite?
By the end of the 2023-2024 school year, 60% of districts planned to have trained teachers how to use AI, but urban school districts were least likely to deliver such training — district leaders were concerned about widening an already large education gap.
As educators begin to turn to AI to help facilitate and foster learning, policies at the federal, state, and district levels are not advancing at the same rate. In February 2024, 80% of educators said their districts did not have clear policies on the use of AI tools, with district leaders noting being “overwhelmed and overloaded” by the new technology. Currently, there are only 25 states who have official guidance for the use of AI in K-12 schools.
While the guidance for AI in education remains sparse, its role continues to expand. Wharton School researchers Ethan Mollick and Lilach Mollick evaluated seven potential roles that an AI could play in the classroom setting: mentor, tutor, coach, teammate, student, simulator, and tool. Yeti Confetti provides simultaneous translation during instruction to foster inclusive learning. Musa offers micro-learning through lessons on Whatsapp. It is clear that AI will deeply impact education — from classroom instruction to student services — but it is unclear whether district leaders will keep pace with the rapid acceleration of the technology.
In the wake of this change, the National Association of State Boards of Education recommended a three-pronged approach to address the technology. They encouraged leaders to respond to immediate needs first, while also considering the creation of larger programs to facilitate productivity in addition to a broader dialogue on AI’s potential to address critical challenges. They emphasized restructuring rather than reassembling, imploring leaders to review existing programs rather than creating new, AI-centric programs. Perhaps most importantly, they encouraged teachers and leaders to explore existing tools. Teach AI, for example, is a toolkit designed to support education authorities as they embark on developing AI guidance.
But, while the AI space is moving fast, there are still areas of education that cannot be replaced, with the largest factor being teacher-student relationships. In the same year that ChatGPT was released, the University of Missouri released a study that demonstrated that positive teacher-student relationships lead to better teaching.
“Students are more likely to learn when they feel cared for and valued by their teacher,” said Christi Bergin, a research professor at the MU College of Education and Human Development and senior author on the study. So, while AI isn’t going anywhere, neither is teaching.
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