AI may raise homework scores but weaken actual learning, World Bank warns

NEW DELHI: Better homework, worse exams. International evidence cited by the World Bank suggests that unrestricted use of generative AI can improve what students submit while weakening what they actually learn — a warning with implications for countries such as India as AI use expands in classrooms.The World Development Report 2026 devotes a separate section to “Generative AI and the Erosion of Knowledge, Learning, and Human Skills”, cautioning that tools such as ChatGPT can reduce the mental effort through which reasoning, writing and knowledge are built. The report does not cite an India-specific study on student learning outcomes in this section.Its strongest evidence comes from China. A study covering students in Grades 7-12 found self-reported AI use rising from almost zero to around 80% between 2022 and 2025. Six months after first use, homework scores improved 18% even as students spent less time on assignments, while monthly in-class examination scores fell 20%. Students who had ever used AI also scored, on average, 5-7% lower in senior high-school and college entrance examinations. The report cautions that the study has not yet been peer-reviewed and reflects the early phase of AI adoption.Gaurav Nayyar, who led the World Bank team that prepared the report, said the evidence points to both opportunity and risk in education. “If students outsource the learning process to AI, then... that will be a problem,” he told TOI.He said the evidence so far appeared more encouraging when AI was used by teachers rather than directly by students. “There is much more benefit when AI is being used by teachers rather than by students,” Nayyar said, pointing to its use in personalising and customising instruction to suit different learners.Other research reviewed by the World Bank points in the same direction. Participants using large language models for research displayed lower cognitive effort and weaker reasoning, while studies found mental effort declining even when output quality improved. Students given unrestricted AI access also performed worse later when the technology was withdrawn.The report warns that if students use AI to complete homework, the “productive struggle” central to learning can disappear, potentially weakening foundational skills in reasoning and writing.But it does not argue against AI in education. A synthesis of experiments across China, Ghana, Nigeria, Türkiye and the US found that 30 sessions of AI-powered tutoring produced learning gains equivalent to at least 0.56 years of schooling, particularly when AI complemented teachers and included safeguards against shortcuts.“AI can augment human capabilities,” the report said, “but it must not replace the processes through which more advanced skills are acquired.”You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.