Half of parents are concerned that their children rely too heavily on artificial intelligence for schoolwork, according to a new Deloitte survey, highlighting growing uncertainty over how schools should prepare young people for an AI-powered future without weakening the thinking and problem-solving skills education is intended to develop.
What Did The Survey Find?
Deloitte’s latest Back-to-School Survey paints a picture of parents who see AI as both an opportunity and a risk.
The research found that 50 per cent of parents are concerned that their children rely on AI too much, while almost 30 per cent say their children already use generative AI for schoolwork. However, only 22 per cent report that their child’s school provides approved generative AI tools, and just one-third say their school has established clear policies on how AI should be used.
At the same time, it seems that parents recognise that AI skills are becoming increasingly important. For example, more than one-third believe schools are not doing enough to prepare students to use AI effectively, while one in eight say they are considering paying for AI tutoring or specialist camps outside school.
Deloitte summarises the challenge by saying: “Parents are balancing concern about overreliance on AI with recognition that AI literacy is becoming an essential skill for future success.”
Rather than rejecting AI altogether, many parents appear to be asking how children can learn to use it responsibly without becoming dependent on it.
Why Are Parents So Concerned?
In short, generative AI is fundamentally different from previous educational technologies. Instead of simply helping students search for information, it can write essays, solve mathematical problems, explain scientific concepts, generate computer code and answer complex questions in seconds. Used well, those capabilities can support learning but, used badly, they can clearly bypass much of the thinking that education is designed to encourage.
That is the area where many parents appear to have concerns. Whereas a student who asks AI to explain a difficult topic or suggest improvements to their work is still actively learning, one who simply submits AI-generated answers without understanding them may complete assignments successfully while learning considerably less.
The issue, therefore, is not really whether children should use AI, but whether they remain actively engaged in the learning process.
Why Schools Are Struggling To Keep Up
The survey also highlights the speed at which AI has entered education. Generative AI tools have become widely available in little more than two years, leaving schools trying to develop policies while the technology itself continues to evolve.
Some schools have embraced AI in the classroom, others have imposed restrictions, while many are still deciding how best to balance opportunity with academic integrity.
The same concerns are reflected in higher education. For example, Brown University’s Generative AI in Teaching and Learning Committee (GAITL) found that students themselves “expressed concerns that the use of AI could reduce their long-term learning and have negative cognitive effects”, while teaching staff raised similar concerns about cognition, assessment and academic integrity.
However, the committee also concluded that AI should not simply be viewed as a threat. As its report explains, “some uses of GenAI support the mission and well-being of the Brown community in new and powerful ways.”
That balanced approach increasingly reflects the wider debate, with most educators now accepting that AI is unlikely to disappear from classrooms and that the focus should instead be on developing clear guidance so it supports learning rather than replacing it.
Preparing Students For An AI Future
The Deloitte findings also reflect a broader change taking place beyond education. Today’s students are likely to enter workplaces where AI assistants are as commonplace as spreadsheets, search engines and email are today. Understanding how to use AI effectively will almost certainly become an important workplace skill.
At the same time, employers continue to value qualities that AI cannot easily replace, including judgement, creativity, communication, critical thinking and the ability to question information rather than simply accepting it.
Those skills are developed through practice. If students become accustomed to allowing AI to perform too much of the intellectual work, they may leave education with weaker foundations in precisely the capabilities employers value most.
The challenge for schools is therefore becoming one of balance. Students need enough exposure to AI to become confident using it, while continuing to develop the independent thinking skills that technology should support rather than replace.
What Does This Mean For Your Business?
Although Deloitte’s survey focuses on schools, it also provides an early indication of the workforce businesses are likely to recruit over the coming decade.
Many future employees will arrive with considerable experience of using AI, but that alone will not necessarily make them more productive. Organisations will increasingly need people who understand when AI is helpful, when its answers should be questioned and where human judgement remains essential.
Businesses may also find themselves investing more in AI literacy and critical thinking as part of staff development. Knowing how to write an effective AI prompt will be valuable, but so will recognising errors, challenging assumptions and making decisions that extend beyond what an AI system can produce.
The Deloitte survey suggests that parents already understand this balance. AI is becoming an essential skill for the future, but learning how to think independently remains just as important. For schools, universities and employers alike, the challenge is no longer whether AI belongs in learning, but how to ensure it develops capable people rather than creating a generation that depends on it.
