🛝 What If AI Is Making Things Worse?

Welcome to Playground Post, a bi-weekly newsletter that keeps education innovators ahead of what's next.

This week's reality check: A sweeping new report argues AI's risks to students currently outweigh its benefits. Meanwhile, student loneliness has become an epidemic that under-resourced schools can't address, and the 250th anniversary of American independence is giving civics teachers a rare moment in the spotlight.

💎 Data Gem

An updated January 2026 analysis indicates that for the current school year, there are at least 56,000 vacant teaching positions and 350,000 underqualified teachers currently staffing U.S. classrooms, according to Teacher Shortages.

AI's Risks to Students Outweigh Its Benefits, Report Warns

The risks of using generative AI to educate children currently overshadow the benefits.

That's the central finding from a new Brookings Institution study that included focus groups and interviews with K-12 students, parents, educators, and tech experts in 50 countries, plus a literature review of hundreds of research articles.

The report found that using AI in education can "undermine children's foundational development" and that "the damages it has already caused are daunting," though "fixable."

At the top of Brookings' list of concerns is cognitive development. 

The report describes a "doom loop" of AI dependence, where students increasingly offload their own thinking onto the technology.

"When kids use generative AI that tells them what the answer is, they are not thinking for themselves," said Rebecca Winthrop, one of the report's authors. "They're not learning to parse truth from fiction. They're not learning to understand what makes a good argument."

As one student told the researchers: "It's easy. You don't need to use your brain."

The report offers evidence that students who use generative AI are already seeing declines in content knowledge, critical thinking, and creativity.

Social-emotional development is another major concern. 

The problem: AI is inherently sycophantic. It's designed to reinforce users' beliefs. 

If children build social skills largely through chatbot interactions, it can become very uncomfortable to be in an environment when somebody doesn't agree with you.

The report does acknowledge benefits. Teachers who use AI save an average of nearly six hours a week. AI can also help students learn a second language and support those with learning disabilities.

But there's an equity problem emerging. 

Free AI tools accessible to most schools are often the least accurate. "We know that richer communities and schools will be able to afford more advanced AI models," Winthrop says. "This is the first time in ed-tech history that schools will have to pay more for more accurate information."

Tech companies could collaborate with educators in "co-design hubs" to develop and test new applications. And schooling itself could be less focused on "transactional task completion" so students feel less inclined to outsource their thinking.

And the six-hours-a-week finding for teachers points to where AI adds value without the cognitive risks: administrative tasks, not student-facing learning.

Student Loneliness Has Become an Epidemic

Increasing rates of loneliness and isolation have become a growing concern for researchers and policymakers, with some calling attention to the role schools can play in addressing what has been described as an epidemic.

In September, California launched a Men's Service Challenge aimed at finding 10,000 men to serve as mentors, coaches, and tutors for young men and boys. The effort followed an executive order from Gov. Gavin Newsom that cited an increase among boys in suicide rates and disconnection, as well as decreased college attendance.

"Loneliness in general is a problem," said Milena Batanova, director of research at Making Caring Common, in a recent interview with K-12 Dive. 

A national survey by Making Caring Common found that millennials and lower-income families reported higher levels of loneliness. Findings from the American Institute for Boys and Men show that while men and women reported similar rates of loneliness, men were more likely to report not feeling like they belong to a particular group or community.

Batanova said the problem underscores the importance for schools to sustain strong social-emotional learning programs, which evidence shows improve social skills and sense of belonging while reducing loneliness.

But the quality of school offerings depends heavily on resources, and those gaps are widening. "It's kind of like the Hunger Games out there," Batanova said. "It depends on where you live and what kind of schools you go to."

High-quality mentoring and structured interest groups around sports or hobbies can help foster connection. Physical group activities play particularly well with boys. 

"Adolescents can sniff out when programs are too contrived or forced," Batanova said. "Programs need to meet them where they're at."

For innovators, the main point is to address the resource disparity. SEL works, but it's becoming a luxury good. The schools that need it most are the least likely to have it.

Social Studies Teachers Depend on Government Websites. Those Sites Are Disappearing.

Last spring, when the administration targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion policies for elimination, government-run websites began to alter or delete information. 

Educators noticed trusted online sources for American history, such as those for Smithsonian museums, were missing content.

"We were all texting each other and emailing each other all around the country saying 'download the things you know you like' because we just weren't sure if they were going to be there," says Tina Ellsworth, president of the National Council for Social Studies.

80% of social studies teachers use online sources, including government and museum sites, when crafting lessons.

32% of K-12 social studies teachers report never teaching from a textbook.

The need for accurate and engagement content is only growing with the 250th anniversary of American independence coming up this year. That’s put civics in the spotlight, with new games, grants, and professional development programs launching. 

For innovators, the vulnerability is clear: teachers need dependable sources. 

There's demand for independent digital archives of civics and history content. And the fact that a third of teachers never use textbooks suggests flexible, modular curriculum tools could fill gaps that traditional publishers aren't addressing.

⚡️More Quick Hits

This week in education:

• Schools brace for mid-year cuts as federal policy changes begin — Districts prepare for budget impacts from the administration's legislative package

• Smartphone use in schools remains a concern — New studies show continued challenges despite growing number of restrictions

• Colorado public schools lose 10,000 students — Biggest enrollment decline since the pandemic as families continue choosing alternatives

• Most teachers lack paid parental leave — NCTQ study highlights two states leading the way on teacher benefits

To stay up-to-date on all things education innovation, visit us at playgroundpost.com.