Pros and Cons of AI in Education: The Future of Learning
March 22, 2025 | by fauzifafa06@gmail.com
Learning is timeless and something so essential for everyone.
The cycle goes like this: You get hit with information, try to wrap your head around it, actually use it, and then see if you messed up or not. It sounds similar, doesn’t it?
This cycle, however, is undergoing massive change with the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in classrooms. AI can change education for the better, but it also brings challenges and effects we must think about.
You see this with schools around the globe. Some are outright banning AIs like ChatGPT, and others are actually teaching it. Now, why is that?
So, let’s break it down: What are the pros and cons of AI in education?
Table of Contents
The Good, the Bad, and the Worse
Artificial Intelligence is literally reshaping the way students and teachers go about learning. From automating tasks to tailoring each student’s needs, AI is on its course to change education forever.
But, it also provides some challenges, such as data privacy concerns, reduced human interaction, and more. Let’s take a closer look at both sides:
| Pros of AI in Education | Cons of AI in Education |
| Personalized Learning | Over-Reliance & Dependency |
| Instant Feedback & Grading | Bias & Misinformation |
| Accessibility & Inclusion | Expensive & Hard to Implement |
| Less Busywork for Teachers | Less Human Connection |
Pros of AI in Education
Personalized Learning
AI in schools and classrooms can help students by tailoring the lessons to each student. This makes it so students can learn at their own speed, making lessons more tailored and effective.
If you’re having difficulties with one certain subject, AI can zero in on that, giving you extra practice or explaining things in a way that actually clicks.
For example, Khan Academy’s Khanmigo AI tutor adapts to students’ progress, offering personalized guidance based on their strengths and weaknesses.
Instant Feedback & Grading
Grading used to be an exhausting task. Going through hundreds or even thousands of students’ tests can be quite tiring. That’s where AI comes in.
AI is able to grade assignments instantly and give feedback right away, no more waiting!
Gradescope, used by universities like MIT and Stanford, allows AI to auto-grade multiple-choice and even some short-answer questions, giving students faster feedback.
Accessibility & Inclusion
Education is for everyone and AI is making that a reality. With AI-powered tools, students with disabilities can engage with learning in ways that weren’t possible before.
Technologies like speech-to-text and text-to-speech help students who have difficulties in reading or writing. If you struggle with reading long passages, AI can read them aloud for you. If writing is challenging, AI can transcribe your spoken words into text.
A great example of this is Microsoft’s Immersive Reader. It helps students with dyslexia by reading text aloud and breaking down words for better understanding. This kind of AI-Powered accessibility makes sure no one is left behind.
Less Busywork for Teachers
The teacher is one of the most important things in learning. Other than explaining what to learn, they give feedback, answer a million questions, grade a mountain of papers, and… everything else. But AI is changing that.
AI takes over repetitive tasks like grading, attendance, and answering questions, which gives teachers more time to actually teach. It’s about letting teachers spend more time on the stuff that really matters: connecting with students.
For example, TeachFX automatically tracks participation and identifies which students need what. AI-powered tools like these help teachers focus on meaningful interactions rather than manually monitoring discussions.
Cons of AI in Education
Over-Reliance & Dependency
Although AI is great in helping answering questions, this can have a bad effect for students (or teachers) as well. Problems that used to require critical thinking can now be answered in no time by using AI.
Studies have found that, when used improperly, technologies like AI can result in the loss of critical thinking skills. Why do a problem yourself, when you can just get AI to do it for you, right?
This massively impacts a student’s ability to analyze information, making it hard for them to develop their own problem-solving strategies, and cultivate independent thought.
Less Human Connection
The human connections you receive from communicating and interacting with teachers are important for social and emotional development. AI, while helpful, can’t replace this connection.
An article from the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative mentions how AI could worsen student isolation. This is why it is essential for schools to adapt and prioritize human connection.
This can lead to increased student isolation, reduced emotional intelligence, decreased empathy and compassion, and more.
Expensive & Hard to Implement
AI is expensive. AI in education sounds amazing on paper, but the reality is: not every school can afford it.
Implementing and using AI-powered tools isn’t as simple as just “downloading an app”. It involves buying advanced software, maintaining systems, training teachers, ensuring proper infrastructure, and many more.
Many public schools around the world, especially in developing countries, struggle with even the most basic of resources like books and functional classrooms. Expecting them to be able to afford AI-powered tools is unrealistic.
Bias & Misinformation
AI learns from a huge set of information fed to it, whether that be books, articles, websites, and other various sources. Now the thing about that is that if the data has certain biases or misinformation, AI could reinforce and spread them without realizing it.
AI can’t fact-check everything, so wrong info can spread fast. A study by NewsGuard found that ChatGPT often produced false claims when presented with misinformation topics.
If students rely on AI too much, they may accidentally take in biased or misleading information. Hence the importance of fact-checking AI-generated content.