When chatbots deliver instant answers, they eliminate the “productive struggle” kids need to learn how to think. But in overcrowded African classrooms with severe teacher shortages, the alternative to an AI tutor is often no tutor at all. So, where should Africa draw the line?
In his episode of Delve Into AI, ADONIJAH NDEGE dives into why copying New York’s ban would be a mistake, the dangerous trap of cognitive shortcuts, and why the future of AI in African education depends on one radical shift: letting the machine ask the questions while the student generates the answers.
On September 3, New York City, home to the largest public school system in the United States, banned the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in classrooms through the eighth grade. The decision brought to mind a conversation I had with Kurt Gammelgaard Nielsen, chief executive of EdTech Denmark, over dinner in Copenhagen on August 25.
I had mentioned that I write Delve Into AI, a weekly column for TechCabal that explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping life and work across Africa. Naturally, our conversation turned to what AI might mean for education, particularly for children in their formative years.
Nielsen’s concern was not whether students should eventually learn to use AI—they almost certainly will have to—but whether introducing tools designed to simplify thinking too early could interfere with the difficult, and sometimes frustrating, process through which children actually learn to think. “AI should augment human learning, not replace it,” he told me.
“Children should be empowered to think critically, explain deeply, and learn more effectively.” A school is not a factory This distinction may be the most critical element in the debate over AI in education. Many conversations focus on what AI can do for students, teachers, and schools. For Africa, where access